Dragon Country
by DarkShadowFlame
Summary: [AU; SetoAnzu, JouMai] Welcome to Dragon Country. It’s a place unlike anything Kaiba and Jounouchi have ever seen. Here live strange beasts that breathe fire… peaceful citizens who want to protect them… and an evil Clan who would see them enslaved.
1. Black Magic Peaks

Dragon Country, Chapter 1 : Black Magic Peaks

Notes: This is obviously an AU. As a side effect of that, all family ties are severed. Characters may be introduced in this story- such as Seto and Mokuba- as new acquaintances, not as brothers. Also, most of the time characters will call each other by first names, with the notable exception of Mister-Unapproachable-Kaiba. As narrator, I use whichever names I think people are more familiar with/I like best.

- 

- 

No one approached Kaiba Seto. That was just a fact. You could often find him sitting under the large, leafy oak tree on Domino University campus in the afternoons, when his classes were over. He was a familiar fixture on campus; he'd bring his briefcase and his homework and study until the sun was nearly down, then pack up and head back to his dorm. People were accustomed to him, even felt a certain fondness for him; his omnipresence was just another part of the strange and wonderful college experience. But everyone knew Kaiba Seto preferred to be alone, and no one dared to interrupt his solitude.

Jounouchi Katsuya, however, lived to be the exception to the rule.

" 'Sup?" ?" he asked casually, dropping his backpack and plopping next to Seto.

The blue-eyed boy gave a low growl. "You know, I come here to study, because it's impossible to do so when sharing a dorm with you. It rather defeats the purpose when you _follow_ me here."

"I love you too, my best mate," Jounouchi said, stretching and giving an exaggerated yawn. "Hey. You see that mountain?"

Seto followed his pointed finger across the clear afternoon sky. Looming over the bright buildings of the university, and above the wide span of trees just starting to turn red and yellow with autumn, several peaks stood out sharply against the bright blue background. One stood out above the others, and Seto assumed this was the one Jounouchi was pointing at; it rose in front of the others, the highest mountain within fifty miles.

"I'd have to be blind if I've been attending this school for three semesters and not notice it," he answered dryly.

"Geeks."

Looking up at the rude greeting, Seto scowled at the four punks who were now settling beside them. What was this, Distract the Unapproachable Kaiba From his Studies Day? Whatever happened to the fear factor? He'd thought he'd scared everyone else away from him, after nearly reducing the poor freshman to tears after a Frisbee landed in his lap last month.

"So when you gonna do it?" the most obnoxious of the four, a senior named Keith, asked, adjusting his sunglasses and glaring at Jounouchi.

"Do what?" Seto responded for his roommate coldly, glaring at the four. 'Bandit' Keith Howard, along with his cronies Sid, Zigor, and Bonez, had earned a less-than positive reputation on campus, and Kaiba Seto had no time for hooligans.

"Climb Black Magic Peaks!" Jounouchi crowed.

"Oh. Do that? In that case… Never."

He then proceeded to turn back to his book.

"Told you," Sid muttered to Zigor.

"Cut him some slack. I didn't have time to work him up to the idea," Jounouchi wheeled, shoving Keith lightly on the arm and turning back to Seto. "Come on, Kaiba. I was serious! We're going to climb the biggest mountain in the Black Magic chain: Mount Dark Magic!"

"One. That's a dumb name. Two. That's a dumb idea."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes at Keith, as if to say 'can you believe this guy?'. "Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"Firstly, because it seems to be _your_ idea. But also, do you know how many people have died on that mountain?"

"One."

Startled, everyone looked over to the ghostly face of Bonez. The short boy was slumped against the tree, not looking at anyone, but he had spoken to contribute that fact.

"It's been a lot more than _one_," Seto retorted, reluctantly putting his book away. Jounouchi had a talent for distracting him from his studies. "I heard that it was fourteen in the last year alone."

"They never found the bodies." Bonez finally lifted his empty stare to look at Seto. His gaze was neutral, not revealing anything.

"Yeah they did! There was that sucker last week!" Zigor chimed in. "He died in a rock slide."

"He was the only one." Bonez spoke quietly, but somehow he'd captured the attention of all the other boys. "The only one, out of fourteen. That's thirteen people unaccounted for. Thirteen people that just vanished."

Keith shifted uneasily. Sid eyed Jounouchi and mumbled, "You and Kaiba gonna make fifteen."

"What's all this about?" Seto asked impatiently, unwilling to get into a debate about the facts. He never entered an argument where he wasn't precisely sure of himself.

Jounouchi clapped his hands in a false show of joviality, to mask the tense aura that had fallen over the group. "You and I are going to make history, Kaiba!"

"What, college-boy history?" Zigor laughed, but Sid nudged him in the stomach. Seto rolled his eyes, glaring pointedly at Keith. That was one kind of history he wasn't sure he'd want to be involved in.

Dramatically, Jounouchi proclaimed, "We're going to climb to the top of Mount Dark Magic, and we're going to set off fireworks on top!"

Seto gazed at him blankly. "What on earth would we want to do _that_ for?"

Jounouchi heaved a sigh. "Because they don't think we can," he explained patiently.

Seto rolled his eyes. "And I don't think we _should_." He reached for his book again, but Jounouchi snatched it away. He scowled at his dorm-mate. "Katsuya, don't push me."

"But I already bought the fireworks?" Jounouchi tried lamely.

Under Seto's consistent glare, he sighed. "Go away, guys," he said, waving his arms at Keith and his cronies. They answered him with mumbled swears and grumbles, but picked themselves off the ground one by one and wandered away. "C'mon," he addressed Seto, grabbing his briefcase and hoisting it in the air. "I'll carry your stuff while we talk this over. See? I can be nice."

"Katsuya, give me my stuff back!" Seto demanded sharply, scrambling to his feet.

"Geez, breathe. I'm just helping you carry your things back to the dorm. It's getting dark."

He ground his teeth. Rather than admitting Jounouchi was right, he yanked the briefcase from his dorm-mate's hands.

"I try to be nice…" Jounouchi remarked, shaking his head and falling into step beside him. "I suppose you want this back too?" He held out the book. Barely looking at it, Seto snatched it back and tucked it under his arm.

"You shouldn't keep making these stupid bets. What do you have riding on it this time?"

"Eh? Oh." Jounouchi grinned sheepishly. "Pride?" Under Seto's glare, he added, "And about three hundred dollars?"

"Katsuya!" he sharply reprimanded. "You know better than to gamble!"

"Hey, what are you, my mother?" Jounouchi grumbled. "Anyway, it didn't exactly work like that. See, there's this girl… you know Miho?" Seto's memory conjured up a slight, pretty girl with shocking violet hair. "Well, _she_ lost a joking bet with a friend, and she was supposed to go on a date with her roommate's brother or something. But Keith was bothering him, and the _brother_ ended up giving Miho's date to Keith. Then _Miho _stormed out on Keith, 'cause he was trying to get his hands down her shirt. He was chasing after her in the parking lot of a restaurant when I showed up, and I didn't know what he was going to do, but I had to do _something_. So I took Miho's place. Except surprise, surprise, Keith wasn't that interested in dating me, so he worked out the monetary equivalent."

"Where'd he figure three hundred dollars?" Seto wondered aloud.

Jounouchi shrugged, flushing. "Eh… the equivalent of a couple hours with Miho. If she'd… you know."

"Ugh." They walked in silence for a little ways. "Keith was trying to feel Miho up in a restaurant?"

Jounouchi snorted. "That guy has no shame."

"Not much else to brag about, either," Seto said in distaste. He thought for a moment. "So you stuck up for Miho? Took her debt?"

"Well, there wasn't much else I could do," Jounouchi defended. "I wasn't going to leave her to such a thick-headed asshole. Anyway, that's when Keith and I worked out that other bet. If I set off fireworks on the peak of Mount Dark Magic at sunset tomorrow, he'll cancel my debt."

Seto sighed heavily. "And where do I come into this?"

"You're my best friend who wants to help me out?" Jounouchi tried. "You've harbored a secret wish to climb Black Magic Peaks? I, um, have too many fireworks for one person to carry?"

"Ah, I think we've hit on it," Seto said, smiling grimly. "Katsuya. It's now illegal to even enter the mountain area without a permit."

Jounouchi waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, the other guys got in."

"You mean the ones who are either missing or dead?"

Jounouchi grinned. "Yeah, them."

Seto sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. They rounded the corner and headed for the bright lights of the dormitory. "I should call the police. They'd do something about Keith."

"Don't!" Jounouchi said in alarm. "That's so… sissy."

Seto snorted. "There's nothing sissy about saving your skin, Katsuya."

"You won't call the police," Jounouchi predicted confidentially.

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?"

"Because you're on my side. Besides… if you call the police, I'll tell everyone you're obsessed with mermaids."

Seto fished his key out of his pocket, scowling at Jounouchi. "I am not obsessed with mermaids."

"And dragons, and unicorns, and those half-horse things."

"Centaurs," Seto corrected automatically.

"What're the half-goat things?"

Seto sighed, sliding the plastic automatic key through the slot and opening the door. "Satyrs."

"Gotcha," Jounouchi agreed amiably, sauntering through the door and following Seto down the hall.

"And I'm not obsessed with them." Seto unlocked the dorm that the two boys shared and entered, flicking on the lights. Jounouchi, right behind him, cleared his throat and shot a glance at the wall above Seto's bed. It was peppered with posters of mystical beasts, dozens of creatures from mythology.

"So I like studying magic," Seto defended. "It's interesting to look at history. The origin of mythical beasts. That doesn't mean I think they're real. It doesn't mean I'm obsessed with them."

"Whatever," Jounouchi sighed, heading for his bed and collapsing on top of it.

Seto let out a loud sigh, shoving his briefcase into a corner. "I'll come with you. But it's not because you're blackmailing me. It's because I don't want to let you wander on dangerous grounds all by yourself. Knowing you, you'd get eaten by wild animals. Or fall off a cliff. Or trip over a rock."

He expected gratuitous praise from Jounouchi. All he got was a mumbled "I knew you would… thanks, buddy."

Scowling, Seto folded his arms and glared at the lump in the bed. "Are you going to sleep?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Without changing first?"

"Mmm…"

"Or brushing your teeth?"

"Hmmm."

He sighed, annoyed. "And you know it'll take us at least eight hours tomorrow to climb the mountain. How far up do you have to go?"

"Two-thirds or more," Jounouchi's muffled reply came. "Preferably more so Keith has no doubts. It'll take all day. I planned on leaving first thing tomorrow."

"Well, I have morning classes," Seto pointed out, crossing his arms.

"You can skip 'em just this once."

"What? I most certainly can not!"

"Lighten up, Kaiba." With that, Jounouchi pulled the pillow over his head, shutting off any further remarks. Seto seethed at him a while more, then realized it was hopeless.

He glanced at the clock. It wasn't even seven yet. Jounouchi just had weird sleeping habits. If Seto could ignore the noise coming from the other rooms, he could get a great deal of work done.

At ten-thirty, he pulled himself away from his paper, finally become aware of Jounouchi's snores. The shouts from outside were as loud as ever, but he'd made significant progress. Satisfied, Seto tidied up his half of the room, kicked the mess of Jounouchi's that had overflowed to his section away, and prepared for bed. Right before he shut off the light, he glanced at his dorm-mate. "That was pretty decent…" he mumbled. "Sticking up for Miho." Then he quickly flicked the switch, plunging the room into darkness, and dove into the warm covers of bed and a content night's sleep.

- 

- 

"_Why_ did I let you talk me into this?" Seto shouted.

"_What?_"

"_Why did I ever-"_ Seto stopped abruptly. The wind was tearing his words away.

He and Jounouchi were, quite literally, hanging onto the cliff side. Seto had quickly learned that Jounouchi had prepared more than he'd thought for this trip. His annoying roommate had already mapped out the chain-link fence surrounding Mount Dark Magic and found the best way to sneak across. They'd brought lots of water and a few sandwiches (and many fireworks), and had been hiking all day. It was growing dark now and they were nearly at their destination. Jounouchi had spotted a broad, wide ledge a hundred feet above them, ideal for setting off the fireworks. Exhausted, but with renewed energy now that the end was in sight, the two had begun the steepest part of their journey. About halfway up, when Seto was precariously perched on a few inches of jutting rock and Jounouchi wasn't much safer, the winds had picked up. Steadily growing worse, Seto was now afraid to move, or he'd be swept away.

Jounouchi was slightly to his left but only a few feet above him. Seto glanced over to see his roommate's pale face. Jounouchi was shouting something, but it was nearly impossible to hear him over the heady gust. _"Do- -ook- -wn-"_

_"WHAT?"_ Seto bellowed.

_"DON- -OOK- -DOWN!"_

'Don't look down'? Naturally, Seto looked, tightening his grip on the rock ledge and shifting ever so slightly. Craning his neck, he could just barely see what was below him.

His eyes widened. He'd expected to see the long drop; fifty feet of bare rock that gradually gave way to the sparse grass and trees that they'd emerged from, and the sprawling town of Domino in the distance. But all that was gone. It had gotten darker than it should have, and directly below was pitch-black. Nearly pitch-black, that was; streaks of gold danced in streams. Bits of silver reared up periodically, as if reaching for the two boys clinging to the mountainside.

_"WHAT IS IT?"_

"_I DON'T KNOW!_" Jounouchi hollered back. "_HOLD ON!_"

"_OF COURSE I'M HOLDING ON, YOU IMBECILE!_" Seto shouted back, but he doubted Jounouchi could hear more than half of his words. He squeezed his eyes shut, partly because it was now so dark it was useless to keep them open, and partly because it was easier that way. Both boys pressed as closely as possible to the mountain, grabbing onto any rough edges they could find and praying that the windstorm would die down.

Without warning, the rocks seemed to shift under Seto's hand. He snapped open his eyes but could see nothing; the only thing his senses told him was that the cliff face had lost its rough texture. The rocks felt smooth under his hands, and as he clung on, he thought he felt a heat rising under the surface, warming his desperate hands.

A startled cry floated toward his ears. He shifted his body just in time to see Jounouchi lose his grip on the mountain and go tumbling down. Jounouchi reached out desperately, but the prevailing winds carried him far away from and surface that he might grab onto. Seto haphazardly reached out, but Jounouchi was much too far for him to catch.

The move cost him dearly. He swore that the rocks emitted a triumphant aura as they shifted again. His feet scrambled, but could not find a purchase on the smooth surface. Seto fell backwards, his body being trapped by the ferocious wind. He sailed through the air, tumbling dangerously. Blackness descended over him, and was just as quickly replaced by those twining strands of gold again. They wrapped through the air over his body, falling in time with him. Gradually, the winds died away, though he was still plummeting downwards. His eyes were growing inexplicably heavy, and his mind seemed to drift away. When he hit the ground, the impact was reduced to a slight _thud_ quivering through his body, then going away.

With superhuman effort, Seto forced his eyes open. He immediately had to roll onto his side, because the sun was back in the sky, burning brightly. The air was warm, and smelled heavily of flowers. Confused, Seto examined the lush green carpet he was lying on. Grass. And there were birds chirping in the distance. A grasshopper bounded right in front of his nose, then hopped away again.

Pulling his scattered thoughts together, Seto sat up, rubbing his shoulder. That seemed to be the only part of his body that hurt. He shoved the collar of his shirt away and examined it; a light bruise was forming. Other than that, he was fine. But that didn't make sense. That fall should have killed him. Why was he still alive? And, maybe even _more_ important- where in the hell _was_ he?

He heard a groan and looked over, matching it to a dirty-blonde head. "Get up, Katsuya," he said sharply.

"What do you have against letting me sleep in?" Jounouchi asked sleepily, then sneezed. Abruptly, he lifted his head, and looked around. "Oh. I'm alive."

"Yes, we're alive," Seto said, rolling his eyes. "But that's the least of our problems. Where are we? How did we get here?"

"We've got the same memories, right?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully, climbing heavily to his feet. "This isn't just a crazy dream?"

"I know when I'm dreaming, and this certainly isn't it," Seto said stiffly, folding his arms. "We were climbing Mount Dark Magic, in the Black Magic Peaks, when that windstorm kicked up. You fell off. A few seconds later, I lost my grip as well. We woke up here."

"You left out some stuff," Jounouchi reminded him. "Was it just me, or did the rocks start changing shape right before we fell?" Seto remained quiet, but Jounouchi correctly interpreted his silence. "Yeah! And you saw the dancing lights, too, right? Gold and silver!"

"It doesn't make sense," Seto grumbled. "I know you. I know what you're going to say. You think it was magic, right?"

"Duh," Jounouchi responded, rolling his eyes. "What else could it be? They were the _Black__ Magic_ Peaks, after all. And we were climbing Mount _Dark__ Magic_, the most infamous of the lot. And remember all those other people that went missing? I bet you anything the same thing happened to them! The mountains… sucked them in, or whatever, through a portal! And they ended up in some new fantasy world!"

Seto gritted his teeth. "Do I even have to point out all the flaws in your logic? Or would you care to shut up?"

"Aw, come on, Kaiba," Jounouchi scoffed. "You're the one who believes in mermaids, after all."

"I _DON'T_ believe in mermaids!" Seto exploded, slamming one fist into the other. "I like to study them from an abstract point of view, but I _don't_ believe in mermaids! And magic doesn't exist!"

Jounouchi frowned at him. "You know what, Kaiba? Fine, have it your way. But you were there, same as me. You saw the same things I did. And pretty soon, I think we'll find out the real deal behind this world. Just promise me something? …Once we're confronted with the facts, accept them."

Seto snorted. "Fine, Katsuya. Let's just concentrate on getting out of here."

- 

- 

For as long as Kaiba Seto could remember, he'd been fascinated with mythology. Dwarves, elves, wizards, unicorns, spellcasters- and yes, as Jounouchi was fond of pointing out, mermaids. But most of all, he had a passion for Dragons. He spent most of his childhood reading about and writing about mystical beasts. He had been an only child, and his mother had died when he was young, and his father Gozaburo was away on business a lot. The Dragons had been his best friends.

But at heart, Seto was a practical person, a trait he'd gained from his father. As he grew older, he stopped pretending that Dragons were real. He focused on his schoolwork, particularly Accounting and Business, and put aside his stories about mythical beasts. He grew angry whenever someone teased him about magic, or brought it up at all; Seto lived for the future. He preferred to shut out his past as much as possible, in case it impeded him. Nothing but distraction could come if he renewed his obsession with Dragons past an idle hobby.

That didn't mean that occasionally, especially in his dreams, he wished that they were still real. What would he give to live in a world of the impossible, a world of Dragons…

- 

- 

"D'you think I should just leave the backpack here?" Jounouchi asked dejectedly, shrugging it off.

Seto glanced at it, unconcerned. "Is there still water in it?"

"Yeah. But I figured that we could take the water out of my backpack and put it in yours, and put the fireworks from yours into mine and leave it here. We can take turns carrying the load, but we won't be lugging a bunch of useless fireworks around."

Seto sighed. "Sounds practical." Jounouchi never failed to amaze him. Working quickly, they transferred all the fireworks to one pack and moved the remaining sandwiches and water to the other.

"It's really warm here," Jounouchi remarked, peeling off his outer jacket and leaving a casual blue tee on underneath. "It was freezing on that mountain."

Seto nodded, watching Jounouchi shove the jacket into the backpack on top of their meager resources. "I'll carry the pack first," Jounouchi volunteered, looking up. "Do you want to keep your trenchcoat in here?"

Seto frowned slightly, and shook his head know. Jounouchi suppressed a snicker. "I don't think I've ever seen you without that thing on, except at night sometimes. Is it like your security blanket? Didn't anyone ever tell you it was impractical to wear a trenchcoat all the time, especially when hiking?"

"It wasn't the trenchcoat that sent me sailing off the mountaintop," Seto remarked acidicly, reluctantly shedding the heavy blue coat and handing it to Jounouchi to cram into the pack.

"It's heavy now," Jounouchi complained, hoisting the pack onto his shoulders and glaring at Seto.

"Tough," he said unsympathetically. "It was you who wanted me to put the trenchcoat in the backpack, after all."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes, then took a step forward. "Which way should we…" he started, then his voice trailed off and he gave a low whistle. "Well, that didn't take long."

Seto glanced up, and froze. Four children were galloping through the meadow ahead, plowing through tall grass. A blonde girl was clinging tightly to a blushing boy's hand; he looked to be the oldest there. He had strange hair; a mixture of violet and black sticking up, and blonde bangs. The next-oldest, a slim redhead with straight locks falling past her shoulders was rushing after him, glancing over her shoulder. The last kid, a boy with wild black hair, was turned around and jogging backwards, yelling. "_Anzu!_ Hurry up!"

"Coming, coming!" a girl's voice shouted, and a fifth person appeared, rushing up the hill. She was wearing a simple white dress that trailed past her knees and kept getting snarled in the brambles as she hurried through the high grass, and a strange-looking horn bounced at her side.

The blonde girl and the boy with the tri-colored hair hurried to where the meadow dropped away. From where Seto was standing, it looked like it turned into a rocky and steep cliff much like the one he and Jounouchi had just fallen down, and beyond that was a dark and wild forest, with amazingly tall and lush trees.

"Should we call out to them?" Jounouchi asked in a hushed voice.

Seto hesitated, keeping a wary eye out. "Wait a second. They're obviously watching for something. Let's find out what it is."

Jounouchi snorted, but obediently got to his knees so they could better duck behind the wild grass and flowers.

The blonde girl gave an excited shout. "I see her, I see her!"

"Run, Anzu!" the black-haired boy urged, catching up with the rest of the three children and peering carefully over the side of the cliff.

The last girl let out a wild, gleeful laugh, and Seto's throat constricted. He watched her carefully. Her sapphire eyes were wide, and full of happiness. She had auburn hair partially pulled back around her face, and long legs that carried her swiftly to the others. She was about the same age as the other boy; only about a year younger than Seto. Probably as old as Jounouchi.

Anzu was nearly at the edge of the cliff when a sudden bellow snapped Seto's attention away. He and Jounouchi both whipped around to stare, wide-eyed, as the children broke into shrills of laughter and wild dancing. "She's here!" the black-haired boy shouted jubilantly.

Seto finally noticed the trees were shaking. His dark blue eyes widened, then narrowed, as he tracked the progress. Something was moving down there, coming closer and closer. When the line moved out of his view, in the shade of the cliff, he stood to try and get a better view. "What are you doing?" Jounouchi hissed, his face pale.

"Something's down there," Seto shot back, craning his neck. The children were still excitedly dancing. "Something's-" he broke off. Another roar resonated through the air.

The head appeared first, then the long neck, and the wings. The beast flew directly up the cliff side, coming into view when the cliff fell away and the meadow began. Seto gaped heedlessly as the full outline of the creature became apparent. A sleek black body flew into the air, and swooped in a quick circle; intelligent red eyes glared out from the horned head.

"It's a Dragon," Jounouchi stated bluntly.

"No it's not," Seto tried to whisper, but Jounouchi cut him off.

"Kaiba Seto. You said you'd accept the facts when you saw them. If that isn't real, then nothing is."

Seto stared in confusion and awe. A Dragon. The dragon- a girl, he guessed, if this had been what the children were referring to- landed not two hundred yards away, flapping her wings twice and preening. Anzu, who she had landed closest to, hurried over, while the children excitedly backtracked.

Anzu's affectionate words drifted across the meadow to the ears of the stunned boys as she warmly reached up to rub the dragon's scaly head. "Welcome home, Red-Eyes."


	2. Dragon Country

Dragon Country, Chapter 2 : Dragon Country

Notes: You can look up any unfamiliar Dragons I mention on www(dot)pokeorder(dot)com.

-

-

"Seto."

Jounouchi's voice was tense, and he never called his dorm-mate by his first name unless things were truly important. Seto glanced down (Jounouchi had remained on his knees when Seto rose in awe).

"Where are we?" Jounouchi asked, his face pale.

Seto snorted, starting to feel slightly better. He could handle this situation better than Jounouchi. "Some magical world, I suppose," he answered, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Weren't you the one who believed in mermaids?"

"That was you," Jounouchi corrected, biting his lip. "And that is _not_ a mermaid. Mermaids, I could handle. Maybe. That thing has _teeth_."

Seto glanced at the Dragon, in mid-yawn. Dozens of gleaming canines shone out at him. The Dragon could probably bite him in half in one go. He swallowed nervously. "She's tame. I think."

Anzu was still stroking the Dragon, circling it and apparently checking her body for injuries.

" 'She'?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully. "Since when is it a she? And since when is it tame?"

"Weren't you listening?" Seto fairly snapped. "Those kids were saying 'she's back', or something. And that other girl is practically _petting_ it."

"That makes me feel better. A little better." Jounouchi gulped loudly.

"Whatever." Seto inhaled deeply, trying to compose himself. "We have to do something."

"Like… what?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully, finally climbing to his feet and standing next to Seto.

"I don't-" he was interrupted by a low rattling, coming from behind them. Both boys froze. Then, gathering their nerves, they turned around.

Jounouchi reflexively jumped. Another Dragon was standing there, quizzically sniffing the pack they'd left behind. This one was, thankfully, a lot smaller than the other one. It barely rose to Seto's knee, and was an almost comical shade of orange. It was shaped differently than the other, as well; it had a rounded, pale stomach, small, high wings; and a wide baby face. And it, thankfully, had less teeth that were less sharp. But it was still a Dragon. And it was standing about twenty feet away from them.

Jounouchi swore, quite colorfully, under his breath. Seto, on the other hand, tried to calm his mind and analyze the situation. "What's that noise it's making?" he asked Jounouchi in an undertone.

"What?" Jounouchi turned to face him, looking frazzled. "The noise? Who gives a-"

"_Listen_," Seto hissed, and Jounouchi obediently fell silent. There was that rattling again, and the Dragon's chest heaved out and collapsed inward. "It's breathing."

"Huh?"

"It's having trouble breathing." Seto watched as the Dragon's nose twitched, and it took another shaky breath. "It has asthma or something."

"You're _kidding_ me," Jounouchi said incredulously. The Dragon poked its nose at the bag, and tried to nip at one of the straps. The nostrils twitched again. "…I think you might be right," Jounouchi said after a moment. "It has asthma. Or maybe allergies. You see the way its nose is twitching like that?"

The Dragon sneezed, three times in quick succession. A small sprout of flame flew out on the third sneeze, catching hold on a corner of the cloth backpack. Seto's face paled. He turned to see Jounouchi looking just as shocked.

"How many fireworks were in that bag?" Seto managed.

"All of them."

Seto swallowed. "How many is… _all_ of them?"

"A lot."

Slowly, the boys turned to face each other. "Run," Jounouchi suggested, then promptly took his own advice. He dashed out into the sunlit meadow, towards the five children, including Anzu, and the other Dragon.

Seto started to follow him, then hesitated. He turned back to look at the backpack. The Dragon, seemingly unperturbed by the fire, was sticking its head underneath it.

Clenching his teeth, Seto dashed back. _"Kaiba!_" Jounouchi hollered, turning around, but Seto ignored him. He grabbed the Dragon around the middle, earning a surprised squeak. Clutching the Dragon tightly, but taking care to avoid the claws, Seto ran at full throttle to Jounouchi. Once the blonde was sure Seto was coming, he too began to run, putting maximum distance between them and the flaming backpack, now starting to emit sparks.

When the explosion came, it was deafening. Seto saw red and blue fireworks go zinging into the sky out of the corner of his eye, and felt a gust of warm wind rush past his ear. The squirming Dragon in his arms abruptly fell silent, and he and Jounouchi gradually slowed. Turning around, he saw the charred remains of the backpack, and a small patchwork of fire taking hold in the tall grass, but he and Jounouchi and the Dragon were unharmed.

Seto heaved a sigh and shifted the Dragon, holding it so it would be more comfortable in his arms. In a surprising show of affection, it licked his ear, leaving a faint burning sensation.

"Anzu, what was _that_?" one of the children asked. Suddenly jolted back to reality, Seto and Jounouchi jerked around to meet with the incredulous stares of the four children. The fifth girl, Anzu, was carefully striding forward to meet them.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice determined. Her eyes flickered to the Dragon in Seto's arms. "Will you hurt Baby?"

Seto's brow quirked. " 'Baby'?" he repeated.

"Baby Dragon," Anzu said again, firmly. "If you're not going to hurt him, put him down."

Seto and Jounouchi exchanged glances. He considered clinging to the Dragon longer, in case they could use him as a bargaining chip. But in the end, Seto reasoned that it'd be best to get on the girl's good side. After all, she looked to be unarmed… Aside from the thirty-foot Dragon hovering over her shoulder, glaring at them like they were lunch.

Carefully, he set the Dragon on the ground. He sneezed once more, but luckily didn't send out a flame this time. Then he bounded awkwardly toward the children, and the red-haired girl bent down to scoop him up and nuzzle his forehead.

Anzu visibly relaxed. "I suppose you're not from the Clan, then?"

Seto and Jounouchi once more shrugged at each other. "Never heard of it," Jounouchi said cheerfully.

"Then where _are_ you from?" the small blonde girl challenged.

"Did you fall through the portal?" Anzu asked, her voice signaling sudden understanding.

"No," Seto started to say, but Jounouchi cut in. "Yeah! I bet we did!" When Seto glared at him, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Kaiba- we fell off a rock cliff that melted under our hands and into a black void with gold and silver lights! That sounds like a portal to _me_." Addressing Anzu, he asked, "Is that what you meant?"

She nodded. "That's what all the others described. What was the name of the place?... 'Dark Mountain'?"

"Mount Dark Magic," Jounouchi said cheerfully. "In Black Magic Peaks!"

"That's it," Anzu said in relief. "That explains it, then. Well!" She clapped her hands, and looked over their shoulders at the small brush fires. "Red-Eyes, if you wouldn't mind…?"

The giant black Dragon opened her wings suddenly, sending out a small gust that bent the grass over backwards and ruffled everyone's hair. Taking off into the air, she came down heavily on the fire, grinding one giant clawed foot over the flames and smothering them completely.

"Wow," Jounouchi marveled. "The fire doesn't bother it?"

"Her," Anzu corrected. "And no, of course not." She seemed amused by the question. "You should see the red fireballs that Dragon can throw. Fire doesn't bother her."

"Where _are_ we?" Jounouchi asked, eyeing the Baby Dragon in the redhead's arms.

Anzu laughed at that, opening her arms wide. "Welcome, boys. To Dragon Country."

-

-

Red-Eyes flew on ahead. "She knows what a greeting she's going to get at the village," Anzu said, sounding amused. "That Dragon is spoiled."

"She's one of our best, though," the black-haired boy chimed in, addressing Jounouchi and Seto. "Hey, what're your names? I'm Mokuba."

"Kaiba Seto," he responded reluctantly.

"Jounouchi Katsuya," Jounouchi said, shifting the second backpack, the one that contained food and water, along with their coats. "Pleased to meet you."

"My name is Shizuka," the girl holding the Baby Dragon spoke up softly.

"Hi. I'm Yuugi," the boy with the tri-colored hair said, smiling shyly.

"And I'm Rebecca," the blonde girl spoke up, tugging absently on one of her pigtails. "So are you guys staying or what?"

Anzu smiled softly. "Let's give them more than ten minutes to make up their minds, Rebecca," she teased gently.

"Staying?" Jounouchi asked in alarm.

"Don't worry. There's a way you can get home," Anzu reassured them quickly. "Another portal, in a mountain-chain to the east. Except… we've had thirteen people fall here in the last year alone. I think it's been over fifty people as far as our records go back. Only six or seven, all told, have decided to go home."

"You must have some darn good cheeseburgers here," Jounouchi said hopefully.

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "What're cheeseburgers?"

Sensing that Jounouchi was on the verge of howling 'Noooooo,' Seto intervened. "Why is that?" he asked sharply.

Anzu turned to look at him, slightly off-put by his tone. "It's not everyone who can pass through here, you know," she said, her voice sounding slightly defensive. "Dragon Country has a way of calling people here who want to be. Or need to be. Many people who have fallen through the portal have fallen in love with this land. Especially with the Dragons. A lot of the time, they decide not to leave again."

"I suppose that means the Dragons don't eat people?" Jounouchi asked hopefully.

Shizuka shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. "Do you want to hold Baby?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Jounouchi blinked. "I suppose that means the Dragons definitely don't eat people?"

She smiled, and handed him the small orange Dragon. He sniffled a little, then burrowed into Jounouchi's shirt. Seto willed himself not to reach out and touch it like a little kid. A _real_ Dragon. It was awakening all the buried childhood emotions in him. Glee, awe, wonderment, a fantastic sense of beauty… He felt giddy and surreal; his thoughts were floating above his head.

"Look!" Rebecca said suddenly, bouncing up and down, her eyes bright. "There's a herd! Look, Kaiba and Jounouchi! You can see them!"

Seto quickly looked over, his eyes widening in anticipation. Way across the field, a herd of Dragons lounged about in the sun. Some of them were nearly twice as long as he was tall, but others were only about the size of the first Dragon's head. The big Dragons were incredibly scaly and skinny, with green scales and brown skin showing underneath. Their claws were at least three inches long. The smaller Dragons were more playful, scampering underneath the big Dragons' bellies and leaping into the air to flutter a little ways before landing again. They were a slightly lighter green, with oversized wings.

"The big ones are Lesser Dragons," Anzu said in his ear, and he gave a jump. He'd forgotten she was there. In fact, he'd forgotten that another world even existed besides the beasts roaming just a few hundred yards away. "Don't be fooled by their name. They can really pack a punch. They're called Lesser Dragons because they can't breathe any fire, but fire is actually the _least_ of what makes a Dragon great. See those claws? And that spiked tail? _That's_ what a fighting Dragon is all about."

Jounouchi gulped audibly. "Thanks," he murmured, accidentally squeezing the Baby Dragon tightly. He let out an indignant squeak.

"Then the smaller ones are Troop Dragons," Anzu continued, her eyes sparkling. "They're never alone, though they're not always with Lesser Dragons. They migrate from one pack to another. Last week I spotted them at the cave entrance, probably hanging with the Dragons Dwelling in the Caves and the Cave Dragons."

Jounouchi blinked. "Those are two different Dragons?"

She laughed again. "I know, I know. Our names sometimes aren't very creative."

"Aren't there two Luster Dragons?" Mokuba piped up.

"Yeah, but we call one of them the Emerald Dragon," Yuugi spoke up, grinning hopefully at Seto and Jounouchi.

Seto's head was spinning as he tried to drink this all in. A shadow passed over their small group, and Baby Dragon broke into an excited squeal, squirming about in Jounouchi's arms. Startled, Jounouchi deposited the Dragon on the ground.

Holding his breath, Seto craned his neck far backwards. Circling above them was another Dragon, hard to see silhouetted against the brilliant sun. Giving a low, resounding grumble, the Dragon suddenly folded its wings and bent down into a dive. Seto and Jounouchi instinctively cringed, but Anzu and the other children cheered and held out their hands. The Dragon pulled back from its air-whistling dive at the last minute, flared its wings, and landed gracefully on the ground.

Baby Dragon sneezed twice more, causing a clump of grass to start smoldering. As it bounded towards the bigger Dragon, which Seto dazedly noted looked like a larger, more ferocious, darker version of the Baby, Anzu absently stamped on the smoldering grass, putting out any possible fire. "Thousand Dragon," she remarked. "Baby's mother. The two of them live in a penned-up field near Shizuka's family's home, except when Baby breaks out and goes wandering." She turned to a still gaping Seto with a brilliant smile. "I suppose I should be thanking you for finding Baby, earlier."

Thousand Dragon eyed the two newcomers with apparent curiosity. Jounouchi weakly lifted an arm and waved. Baby Dragon, climbing across his mother's claws, affectionately nipped at her and squeaked again. Thousand Dragon appeared slightly reassured, and she hooked Baby with her other claw and heaved the small Dragon onto her back. Then, dipping her head to the group, she took off into the air, her giant wings blowing a heavy wind onto the others, and flew off in the same direction from which she'd come.

"I bet Red-Eyes told her that Baby was with us," Yuugi remarked cheerfully.

"Baby's always running away," Rebecca chimed in. "But Anzu or one of the others finds him."

"Was that why you were out in the field today?" Jounouchi asked absently, rubbing his arms. Baby's scales had left slight scrapes. The group began to walk again.

"Naah, we were waiting for Red-Eyes to return," Mokuba said, grabbing Shizuka's hand and forcing her to spin around. She giggled, and he grinned playfully.

"It's mating season," Anzu said, chewing on her lip. "Most of the Red-Eyes Blacks live in the forest, but this Red-Eyes decided to live with us several years ago. She stays in the stables most of the time; Mai and I are her primary caretakers, but she leaves us every season to meet up with a Black in the wild."

Jounouchi was blushing furiously. "So was she, ah, pregnant just now?" he asked, trying to be casual.

Anzu shrugged. "Maybe. Who can tell? She's only had one clutch since she arrived, but this could always be the year."

"I hope so," Mokuba said excitedly, letting go of Shizuka and moving on to force Yuugi to dance with him. "I was too young when the first babies were born. There were three of them, and all but one has moved back into the forest. The other is still too young to have babies. I want to see a hatchling!"

Seto eyed the children. They were much, much too hyper for his liking, but then again… he could already feel the urge to dance. There was just something about this place.

"Are we going to take them to my cousin?" Yuugi asked, gently prying himself away from Mokuba's grasp.

"Of course," Anzu answered, giving Seto and Jounouchi a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It's just procedure. We have to introduce all newcomers to the Pharaoh, and he'll let you know where you can stay. We also have to figure out how you can spend your time between now and when you decide to go home, if you do leave."

"Pharaoh?" Seto asked distastefully, wrinkling his nose slightly.

"Yes, Pharaoh," Anzu said defensively. "He's elected every year. We've had the same Pharaoh for nearly five years running, now, ever since he was fifteen."

Jounouchi whistled. "That's some young king."

"The Dragons prefer the young ones," Anzu said, her face starting to turn pink. "They're the ones who elect him, after all."

Seto's brow rose. "Really?"

"Naturally," she said, turning away. "The Dragon kings of the forest get together and decide who should be Pharaoh. They send Slifer to him as a symbol of true rule, and he takes the throne with Slifer at his side."

"Dragon kings?" Jounouchi asked curiously.

"Nobody ever sees them, except one or two of the firemen at election time," Rebecca said in a hushed voice. "And of course, the Tamer. The Blue-Eyes White Dragons are the strongest out there."

"Anyway, our Pharaoh now is Atemu, Yuugi's cousin," Rebecca butted in. She dashed up to Anzu and poked the horn at her side. "See that?"

Seto glanced over. On a rope belt around Anzu's waist hung an exquisite bronze horn. One end was extremely narrow, and the other was sculpted to look like a Dragon's head. In the center of its forehead was painted a golden eye.

"That's the sign of the Pharaoh's house. We call it the Millennium Eye," Yuugi said quietly, touching a trinket around his neck. It was an oversized and upside-down pyramid, also branded with the eye. "This is my Puzzle. I wear it because I'm related to the royalty."

"Why do _you_ have the sign, then?" Jounouchi cheerfully asked Anzu.

She lifted her chin. "The Dragons have chosen me as the Tamer. That's another ritual, one in which a Blue-Eyes comes to me in my sleep and delivers this horn to me. It's the Flute of Summoning Dragons. With it, I have power over most of Dragon Country. It's an important duty. And I'm _not_ too young." She directed this last comment at Jounouchi, her sapphire eyes burning. Seto almost laughed, but caught himself in time. Anzu had obviously taken offense at his comment about young kings.

Jounouchi had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you…"

"We're home!" Mokuba and Rebecca screeched in unison, grabbing hands and running forward. Seto looked up, startled. He hadn't even noticed them approaching, but now they climbed over a hill and came into view of a giant palace. It was made of a gleaming white stone, furnished with gold. It boasted statues of a myriad of Dragons in the sprawling courtyard, and Seto dazedly tried to count all the different species. There were too many, however, all of different shapes and sizes. But one Dragon, prominently placed in the center, caught his attention. It was a pure white, even more dazzling than whatever the palace was built of, except for its eyes, which glittered with a deep blue gem. Seto swore he saw a spark of intelligence in this penetrating gaze. The Dragon's features were smooth and contoured; the face was round and the mouth was slightly open, revealing a long row of sharp teeth. Instinctively, Seto knew that this was what they referred to as the king of Dragons: the mighty Blue-Eyes.

-

-

Even if he hadn't already been informed that Yuugi was Atemu's cousin, there was no missing the resemblance between the two. Although Yuugi was smaller, and paler, and looked younger and more innocent, the boys shared the same drastic, spiky tri-colored hair. Atemu had bronzed skin and an apparent penchant for gold jewelry, and he was idly polishing a Puzzle identical to Yuugi's when they walked in.

"Ah, Anzu," he said in apparent relief, rising from the crimson-lined throne and hurrying to meet her. Seto and Jounouchi trailed behind her uncertainly, and Yuugi walked at their side, but the other three children had gone their separate ways. "Red-Eyes returned safely?"

"Yes, thank goodness," Anzu said warmly, accepting his embrace. "Baby Dragon wandered off too, but Thousand Dragon brought him home recently."

"And all else is well in the kingdom," Atemu said, relief apparent in his voice. "The Clan has been silent for the past four months. I can almost hope that they won't attack before the winter sets in." He peered over her shoulder with sharp crimson eyes, boring holes into Seto and Jounouchi. "And who are these? Newcomers from the Other World?"

"Yes," Anzu replied, stepping back and walking with him over to the boys. Yuugi grinned shyly at his cousin and waved. Atemu reached out and clapped the boy affectionately on the shoulder.

"Welcome to Dragon Country," he said, studying the newcomers. "And how do you like this kingdom?"

"Amazing," Jounouchi blurted. Seto remained silent, but gave a dip of his head to signal his appreciation as well.

"Good," Atemu said, appearing satisfied. "Will you be staying?"

Seto hesitated, exchanging looks with Jounouchi. "Anzu said a lot of people ended up staying."

Atemu nodded. "Many prefer to wait here before beginning their journey east, to the portal that will return them to their own world. Most fall in love with this realm. Only six, I believe, have ever left."

Jounouchi's eyebrows lifted. "They leave their families and everything?"

Atemu and Anzu exchanged looks. "I told you, Black Magic Peaks have a way of calling those who belong here," Anzu said simply.

"I don't think we'll be staying," Seto said firmly.

"Of course," Atemu replied smoothly, almost as if he'd been expecting that. "We'll do anything we can to help you on your way."

"No catches?" Seto asked doubtfully, causing a spark of amusement to rise in Anzu's eyes.

"Of course not," Atemu reassured once again. "When will you wish to leave?"

"Immediately," Seto said firmly, overruling Jounouchi, who had also opened his mouth.

Finally, he'd startled them. Atemu's eyes flickered downwards, and Anzu looked troubled, as did Yuugi. "Really?" the short boy asked sadly, and Seto's spine stiffened.

"Immediately," he said again.

-

-

"Honestly, I don't see the harm in staying just a week or so," Jounouchi whined at Seto as they headed through the long winding palace. Atemu had disappeared after instructing Anzu to lead them to the stables. Yuugi had opted to tag along, and he trotted at Anzu's side. She was moving quickly, several paces ahead of them. Her shoulders were set, and Seto had a feeling she disapproved of his decision to leave so quickly.

"We don't belong here, Katsuya," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "This is _not_ our world. It's in our best interest to leave again, as soon as possible. We can't just drop all our responsibilities. We need to return and pick up our _normal life_."

"But everyone else liked it," Jounouchi pointed out, nearly slipping on the smooth polished tile.

"We're not everyone else. We're not lazy and irresponsible, and we're _not _going to continue living in a fantasy world."

Jounouchi sighed mournfully. "You're right, Kaiba… but I still think it'd be fun to visit. But yeah, I could never live here. I'd miss cheeseburgers too much…"

Seto snorted, but otherwise ignored his companion. Anzu pushed open a door up ahead and let in the brilliant sunlight; she exited the building quickly, but Yuugi hung back.

"This path leads to the stables," he said shyly when Seto and Jounouchi caught up, pointing at the white cobblestone path. "All the Dragons we domesticate live down there." He pointed, and Jounouchi gave a low whistle.

The stables were a huge, sprawling compound, covering more land than even the palace. Enclosed and protected areas gave way to open expanses of lawn, and Seto spotted several Dragons sunbathing. A manmade river wound its way through the stables, passing through each Dragon's private pens and ending up at a lake, where handlers worked to clean the water and send it off on another spiral. The stables were bustling with life; handlers were constantly exiting and entering the stables, whether carting out dung or bringing in food. At one end, several handlers were grooming a large Dragon that sparkled as though made of diamonds. "That's Hyozanryu," Yuugi said proudly. "See that long horn?" Hyozanryu had an enormous spike protruding from his nose, as well as two horns flattened along the back of his head. "No other Dragon has anything like it. Hyozanryu are really rare, but we've got four living here. That one's the biggest, it's a male, and he also has a mate and two of their offspring."

"I'm impressed," Jounouchi said, in true awe. "Man. This is unbelievable." He glanced at his companion. "Aw, come on, lighten up, Kaiba. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You'll never see anything like this again. Try and enjoy it!"

Seto ignored his former dorm-mate, staring at the Dragons. His stiff face might not betray it, but he was feeling wonderment as never before. The Dragons were more fantastic than he'd ever dared to dream. Hyozanryu yawned widely and preened, and his handler laughed and tossed the Dragon a treat. Hyozanryu leaned over to nip what looked like the oversized apple out of thin air, and swallowed it whole. "What do they eat?" Seto asked curiously, before he remembered that it was best to remain distant from these people.

Yuugi glanced over. "Oh. They usually eat pomphurs. It's a kind of fruit that grows here. It's a mixture of bitter and spicy; I think it's absolutely vile." He laughed. "But it's the Dragons' favorite food."

"Do they eat meat?" Jounouchi wanted to know, still eyeing the Dragons with a hint of wariness.

Yuugi looked disgusted. "Eat _meat_? Are you serious?"

Seto stabbed Jounouchi with a finger. "They're probably all vegetarians here," he said in an undertone. "I haven't seen any animals other than birds and insects; have you?"

"Oh. No," Jounouchi mumbled back.

"Hurry up!" Seto looked up to find Anzu waving impatiently at them. She'd already reached the end of the path, and was talking with a white-haired man. The black-haired boy they'd met earlier, Mokuba, was back; he was standing next to a taller boy with aqua hair.

"Hi guys!" Mokuba said cheerfully as they approached. "This is my brother, Noa! Noa, these are the newcomers I told you about. You know… from the Other World."

Noa gave a short and oddly formal bow. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Seto responded curtly, turning back to Anzu. He noticed with distaste that she was resting her arm on that of the white-haired man's.

"This is Ryou," she introduced. "He's a fireman."

"Fireman?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully.

Ryou nodded, all smiles. "Anzu tells me you had some experiences with fire yourself. Most of the Dragons are careful, but when they have allergies- like Baby- or sometimes when they work themselves into a fearsome temper, part of the forest or meadow will catch fire. We firemen are out patrolling the area surrounding the palace daily, to make sure nothing goes up in flames."

"They work with a special kind of Dragon," Anzu informed them. "It's called Levia Dragon, or Daedalus. Unlike all the other Dragons, its element is water. Daedalus help put out fires throughout the kingdom."

"It's interesting work," Ryou said cheerfully, putting his hands together. "So! Anzu tells me you're leaving already." Anzu's smile abruptly melted away, and she turned her head slightly.

"Yes," Seto said, trying to sound faintly apologetic. "We really should be returning home."

"Well, come with me, and I'll help outfit you for the journey," Ryou said, turning and heading into the stables. Seto was about to follow him, but Jounouchi poked him in the side.

"Kaiba?" he asked, flashing his best puppy-eyes. "Can I go explore?"

Seto heaved a sigh. Jounouchi was like a little kid much of the time. "Fine, _I'll_ work out the logistics with Ryou," he answered sharply. "Give me the backpack." Jounouchi obediently shed the pack and handed it to Seto, grinning. "And don't get lost," Seto added as Jounouchi turned away. He and Anzu and Yuugi talked a moment, then went their separate ways. Anzu and Yuugi walked back up to the palace; Jounouchi headed into the stables to the right. Seto followed Ryou into the stables directly ahead, passing several large pens hosting Dragons. Seto pushed away the urge to stop and poke his head into each one, walking after Ryou in a steady pace.

"Would you like a new bag?" Ryou asked finally, entering what looked like his office. A huge map covered one wall, and scrolls littered his desk. On each one was painted a Dragon clawprint. Dragon teeth were showcased in class containers on one shelf.

"This one should be fine," Seto said doubtfully, testing it. "But I think we might be able to use a second one. How far away are the mountains?"

"Here, look at this map," Ryou responded, turning to the one on the wall. "It'll help. Here's our palace." He pointed to the center. "The mountain chain you want lies to the east. We don't have a name for it, but we usually call it the Barrier."

"Why?" Seto interrupted, his curiosity piqued.

Ryou heaved a rather sad sigh. "See, past the mountain chain lie the lands of Krawdante," he said, tracing the area with a slender finger. "The Krawdiites and our people have never gotten along. The Krawdiites are uncivilized Dragon-fighters. They enslave the wild Dragons where they live and use them in tournaments to make money, or as tools in war. They tried to invade us a thousand years ago, but the legendary Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon arose and beat them away. Legend says that this was where the Blue-Eyes first came into being. After the battle, the three-headed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon _split_ into three separate beings. They've thrived in the forest ever since, breeding and living off the land. They're still quite mysterious. They've only been spotted rarely. And, of course, the Tamer will see them during the Choosing." He shook his head. "Anyway. Ever since the Ultimate Dragon beat the Krawdiites soundly a thousand years back, they've been quiet. They stay wholly on their side of the mountain chain- the Barrier, between their world and ours. You shouldn't be anywhere near them. The portal is here." Ryou fingered a spot on the map. "We'll give you more specific instructions when you get closer. A chariot will bring you to the base of the mountain, and the rest of the climb is simple."

Seto nodded.

"And we'll make sure you have plenty of food and water," Ryou said cheerfully. "It only takes a day to reach the base of the mountains. You can camp there for the night, and set off in the morning. You'll be home before you know it!"

"Thank you," he said sincerely, clasping Ryou's hand.

"Of course," Ryou said, smiling in return. "When will you wish to leave?"

"Tomorrow."

Ryou seemed slightly taken aback, but nodded. "All right. I'll arrange a chariot."


	3. In the Barrier

Dragon Country, Chapter 3 : In the Barrier

Notes: A lesser known character, Kajiki Ryouta is Mako Tsunami in the dub.

- 

- 

Jounouchi wandered in and out of the stables, peering at the golden labels on the stall doors. The Dragons wholly impressed them, and he wished they could stay a _bit_ longer; if only he could see a multi-headed Dragon. He'd bumped into a handler, who delighted in telling him stories about the kinds of Dragons out there. Apparently, there were wild species living on the outskirts of Dragon Country called Twin-Headed Fire Dragons that were amazing to see.

Also, he'd gotten a chance to look at some Thunder Dragons- instead of breathing fire, they had some weird electrical properties. The same handler, noting his obsession with multiple heads, told him that sometimes in the wild, a mutant Thunder Dragon was born with _two_ heads. How awesome was _that_?! The handler had described more creatures, each more fantastic-sounding than the next. He wished that Seto had decided to come along with him; he was sure his sullen dorm-mate would have lit up at the descriptions of the Dragons. And of course, the Dragons he'd _seen_ had been thrilling.

He stopped in front of one stall, more elaborately decorated than any of the others. Intricate carvings in the wood surrounded the gold plaque, and the stall door was curved and elegant, made of highly polished wood. He read the name in gold silently, his lips moving. _Harpies Pet Dragon…_

"Pet?" he wondered aloud.

"It's from an old folk's tale."

Jounouchi spun around too quickly and nearly lost his balance. A woman a little older than he stood there, regarding him with an amused quirk of her lips. She gave a slight toss of her head, and her mass of blonde curls shook. "You know what a Harpy is, right?" she asked in a low, smooth voice, taking a small step forward. Jounouchi audibly gulped, mentally tracing the curves on this woman's body. She was tall and slender, with a sizeable chest, and those looong legs… _Damn_, he thought hazily.

"Beautiful… deadly…" the woman intoned, advancing farther once it became obvious Jounouchi wasn't going to answer. "Harpies are winged beasts in old stories, said to live in the mountains and lure men to their doom." To Jounouchi's surprise, she winked at him. "Well, legend says that this Dragon once was a servant of the Harpies. When they faded from this world, the Dragon survived. They still live mostly in the mountains, but a couple of our firefighters found this girl a few weeks ago. She was wounded, so we brought her back here to heal."

Jounouchi's eyebrows lifted. "Oh," he managed. "Why… why do you say they're Harpies pets?"

"I'll show you," the woman volunteered, lifting one slender hand. Jounouchi doubted they had nail polish in Dragon Country, but her nails were long and smooth and shiny. He stared, fascinated, until it became apparent that she was shaking something under his nose.

"It's a collar," she said, amused, pulling it away. Jounouchi blushed, a little embarrassed. He eyed the collar- a strange tan material, ending in a very long chain. "Like the Harpies, their Pet Dragons are wild and unpredictable. That's why we only have the one here. We need to be veery careful around them…" Before Jounouchi could raise a protest, she'd flipped the sturdy latch on the stable door and stepped inside, holding it open for him expectantly. Unable to swallow his pride and back out, Jounouchi followed the woman inside.

"Sssh," the woman said, holding a finger to her lips. Her perfectly pink, soft, sweet lips… Jounouchi gave his head a mental shake. "She's sleeping."

Jounouchi followed her gaze and his eyes widened. He understood perfectly why they said the Dragon belonged among the Harpies. Pet Dragon was a brilliant shade of pink; thin but muscled; beautiful but deadly. Her claws were black and vicious-looking, and she sported a mask of deep black running along the top of her face. Most amazing was what looked like one giant gemstone, extending from the top of her forehead and rising up prominently. It was a murky green, spotted with rounded blue stones, and the light streaming in through the lone window caught it and sent out dancing aqua shadows.

"Beautiful…" Jounouchi breathed, and the woman appeared satisfied. Slowly, she crept up to the Dragon and latched the collar around her neck. Harpies Pet Dragon stirred slightly, cracking open one eye. Jounouchi jumped as the shockingly green orb glared out at him from that mask of black.

"Come on, girl," the woman crooned. "It's time for your appointment with the healers…" Shooting a glance at Jounouchi, she explained, "I told you that she was wounded. She apparently got into a scuffle with one of the other Dragons that lives in the mountains." Her brow creased… "Though I could have sworn it wasn't a Dragon claw that made this puncture. I suppose it was worsened when this girl walked around where the rocks jut up." She shrugged, then ran her finger along Harpies Pet Dragon's back leg. "See?"

Jounouchi obediently looked, and his amber eyes grew wide. "Yow. Another Dragon did that?" The scar was still relatively fresh; pink scales were twisted and broken flesh showed through.

The woman shrugged again. "As far as we can tell." She shot him a sidelong glance. "By the way, my name is Kujaku Mai. Everyone calls me Mai."

Jounouchi swallowed. "Jounouchi Katsuya," he said, managing not to sound flustered. "Pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine," Mai said smoothly, winking at him. Long lashes batted over sparkling purple eyes, and this time Jounouchi really did blush.

"So can I, ah- come watch?"

"What, her appointment with the healers?"

"Yeah," Jounouchi said, blushing furiously. "I think it'd be- cool."

She nodded slightly. "It's not very interesting, but you're welcome to come."

"Neat." Jounouchi fell in step with her as Mai led the Dragon to a back wall. She fiddled with a series of locks, sliding tumblers into place, and the whole wall unhinged and swung partially open. Tugging gently on her collar, Mai guided Harpies Pet Dragon outside into the bright sunlight.

Searching desperately for a conversation topic, Jounouchi blurted, "The wood in that stall's different."

"Yeah," she said, glancing at him over her shoulder. "I told you that this girl was wild. The other Dragons are domesticated, and they won't try and set the place on fire, but we can't be sure of what she'll do. We've always had one or two stalls made of special wood coated in nonflammable substance for the wild ones; we just put her in one."

"Neat," Jounouchi said again, lamely.

Mai turned her head slightly to hide her grin. They headed down the paved sidewalk winding through the center of the stables, and Jounouchi couldn't have stopped his head from whipping back and forth if he'd wanted. There were even more Dragons out here, ranging from tiny greenish ones that scampered around in private fields, chasing one another; to a feathery purple Dragon with four wings and a bird-like face; and then there was one humongous blue Dragon that stood at the edge of his pen and made faces at the people passing him.

"Holy _crap_," Jounouchi said, scuttling over to the opposite side of the sidewalk. Mai fought to keep her face expressionless as she impassively marched Harpies Pet Dragon beside him. Harpies Pet shot the blue Dragon a look, and reached over as if to snap at his neck, but Mai tugged sharply on the chain and Harpies Pet obediently dropped her head again.

"What in the world _is_ that thing?" Jounouchi asked, staring at it, still too fascinated to break away.

"He's what we feed the criminals to," Mai answered cheerfully.

Jounouchi's eyes bulged. "Seriously?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, Katsuya."

"Oh." He flushed. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised." The Dragon, blue with a red stomach, had a narrow, pointed face and a mouth full of razor teeth, reminding Jounouchi faintly of a dinosaur. His claws were nearly long enough to go through Jounouchi's stomach and out the other side, and he had four of them on each limb. As if that weren't enough, he had horns protruding from his cheekbones and a line of horns along his back, and three oversized ones branching out from each other on his head.

"That's Tri-Horned Dragon," Mai informed him as he finally broke away and hurried to catch up.

"Tri-Horned?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully. "I counted a _lot_ more than three of those nasty spikes."

She sighed and rolled her eyes at him, but Jounouchi was pleased to see that she was laughing. Hopefully it was _with_ him and not _at_ him. "He looks nasty, all right, but he's one of our most playful," she told him fondly. "Except maybe for Ryu-Ran. When the two of them are allowed to play together, just watch out. They're liable to knock over a fence, rolling around like that."

"Has that ever happened?" Jounouchi asked in a panic.

"Once or twice," she said, feigning casualty. "Ryu-Ran has to be careful. Most of his shell grows with him, and works as his scales normally would, for protection. The shell gets extremely hard and smooth once he reaches maturity. So when Tri-Horned Dragon tosses him, he goes rolling at top speed across the grass, gets zero traction, and goes plowing straight through the fence."

Jounouchi whistled lowly. That might be interesting to see, if he was a safe distance away.

"Here," Mai said, turning right and opening another gate. This one was much taller than any of the others, rising well above the height of the Tri-Horned Dragon and nearly doubling the height of Harpies Pet. Mai pushed through, holding it open for Jounouchi could follow. Harpies Dragon went in remarkably quickly, surprising him. Weren't animals supposed to be afraid of the vet?

When he voiced this question, Mai laughed. "I don't know how things are where you're from, Jounouchi," she said cheerfully. "But here, the Dragons looove Shaadi and Isis… after they're done checking them out, the Dragons get a nice warm bath and a massage… oh, and a couple yiine tarts. A fruit," she added. "Dragons go crazy for them."

"Greetings."

The voice came from right beside his ear. Jounouchi yelped and jumped backwards, then spun quickly to see a dark-skinned man regarding him with no apparent expression on his face. "I am Shaadi," he said emotionlessly.

"You're here, Mai?" came another smooth voice, but this one was less monotonous. A slender, dark-haired woman emerged from behind a curtain, wiping her hands on her pale dress. "Wonderful! And I see we have a visitor."

Jounouchi noted that both of these people were wearing trinkets with the golden Millennium Eye on them; they must have been important in the palace.

"Hey. I'm Jounouchi Katsuya," he said cheerfully, trying not to let the man's eerie manner bother him. "Just passing through your world… hope you don't mind…"

"You're from the Other World," the woman stated positively. "When do you plan to leave?"

He scratched behind his ear uncomfortably. "Uh… any hour now, I think. Possibly tomorrow."

Shaadi's face registered surprise, and the smile slipped like water off of Mai's countenance. She turned to Harpies Pet Dragon, busying herself with removing her collar and coiling it around her arm. Jounouchi watched her dejectedly. Another hot girl, down the drain…

The black-haired woman nodded. "I wish you the best of luck. I am Isis," she mentioned, then turned to the Dragon. "She's healing well," Isis remarked, running a careful hand around the injury. "She'll be ready to return to her home soon."

Once again, something in Mai's eyes died, and she bowed her head. "I see," she said carefully. Jounouchi swallowed, feeling bad.

Isis turned to Mai with a smile as Shaadi began inspecting Harpies Pet's claws. "I know you'll miss her. But she belongs in the wild, Mai. There are some things you can't remove from their home."

Jounouchi cast his eyes away. He knew _that_ was true.

- 

- 

Seto and Jounouchi spent the night in one of the villager's houses. Since it was only for one night, and he had an extra room, Kajiki Ryouta had gladly volunteered to take them in. "As long as you don't mind sharing a room!" he informed the two boys cheerfully.

"Trust me," Seto groaned. "If sharing a dorm with him for the semester hasn't killed me yet, I can survive a night with him anywhere." This faintly puzzled Ryouta, but he accepted it with a broad grin and a nod.

"They told you that I was one of the Other Worlders, right?" he asked at dinner, running a hand through his blue-black hair, casually pulled back into a ponytail.

Seto nearly spit into his soup (prepared with cream and vegetable roots and a certain kind of mushroom, but definitely no Dragon meat. He'd asked.). "No! No one told us."

"You decided to live here?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully. "Forever?"

Ryouta shrugged and took a gulp of his mug of milk. "Honestly, I can't see why that should surprise anyone. This is a great place. It's like moving into one of your dreams! You grow so attached to the Dragons after a while. I found a use here as a seasman. I've always loved the water. Now, I help build ships and every spring, I sail to the far south to trade with the other countries and collect information about new Dragons down there. Did you know that the Spirit Ryu's we have up here are all imported? And that my ship brought half-a-dozen back on our last voyage?" He smiled proudly.

Seto and Jounouchi exchanged blank stares. "What's a Spirit Ryu?" Seto finally asked.

Ryouta looked surprised, and lifted his mug. "Why, I thought you knew! They're the milk-givers. That milk you're drinking? And that cream in your soup? That all came from a Spirit Ryu!"

Jounouchi stopped with his mug half-lifted to his lips, a look of horror on his face.

"Spirit Ryu's are essential to life here," Ryouta added, looking pleased.

Seto shrugged at Jounouchi, tilting his own milk up in an informal toast. "It's no more disgusting that a cow, I suppose," he murmured quietly, and finished off the mug.

- 

- 

"Why are you here?" Seto asked the next morning, quite rudely, but he couldn't help himself. Anzu looked slightly hurt.

"To see you off," she responded, crossing her arms defensively. They were standing outdoors, on the far side of the stables, next to the chariot that would bring Seto and Jounouchi to the base of the Barrier.

"Oh. Sorry," he added, trying to soften the blow. "I just… I don't know. You seemed angry with me."

She blushed. "I didn't mean to give you that impression… it's just… oh, it's silly." She took a deep breath. "In Dragon Country, we've just grown so accustomed to everyone loving it here. It's sort of an insult when someone wants to rush off right away, without admiring the Dragons or anything…" she took in his startled face. "I told you it was silly!"

"No, no," Seto tried to reassure her, feeling a spark of guilt. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. In fact… I didn't want to stay long in case that happened. In case I fell in love with the place." He inhaled deeply as well. "I'm not equipped to live in the perfect world. I belong in the Other World. It's where I'm… most useful."

Anzu looked shocked. "Please tell me you're not leaving because you feel useless!"

He frowned. "Look, I'm a Business and Accounting major. I'm not going to stay here and waste space."

"You don't have to-" she started to protest, but he cut her off, now annoyed.

"No, it's not as simple as that. Never mind. Basically, the fact is that Katsuya and I are _leaving_. Now. Good-bye."

Her mouth fell open and he spun around, once again wearing his trenchcoat and causing it to billow out dramatically. He strode over determinedly to the chariot Ryou had provided for them, and climbed in stiffly, crossing his arms. The driver, Honda Hiroto, eyed him and Anzu, but wisely decided not to say anything. "Waiting on one more?"

Seto nodded reluctantly, looking around and finally spotting Jounouchi. He was leaning against the wall of the stables, chatting up some leggy blonde. Seto rolled his eyes. _Go figure_… "Katsuya!" he shouted. "Come _on_ already! We haven't got all day!"

"One second!" Jounouchi shouted back, annoyed. He turned to Mai again: "Eh, sorry about him. He's kind of impatient. He likes to get an early start on everything."

"That's okay, you should probably go," Mai said, looking down and fiddling with her shirt sleeve.

"I guess," Jounouchi said, sighing. "It's really awesome here. I'll be sorry to go."

"Well, it was nice meeting you," she said, flashing him a killer smile.

He grinned back. "Yeah. You too. Take care- of yourself and Harpies Pet."

"She has to go home soon…" Mai said sadly, looking down. Jounouchi shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah. I'm sorry 'bout that."

She bit her lip. "You ever feel like you just don't belong somewhere?" she asked bluntly, casting her gaze from side to side but not meeting Jounouchi's eyes.

"What?" he asked, startled.

She sighed. "I don't know. I'm sorry for bringing it up. But… this place doesn't feel right for me. It's a tame lifestyle, nothing wild. Nothing important."

"I dunno, I think what you're doing is pretty important," Jounouchi said uncertainly. "Caring for the Dragons and all."

"Yes, but it's not _special_," Mai said in frustration. "Caring for the Harpies Pet was a lot of fun. She's wild and unpredictable. But now that she's leaving soon, it's back to the same old routine… It can get so _monotonous_."

"_KATSUYA!_" Seto hollered again, interrupting whatever Jounouchi's response was going to be. Annoyed, he waved Seto away, but the spell had already been broken.

"Well, good luck," Mai said, rushing back into the stables and leaving Jounouchi gaping after her. Sighing in defeat, he trudged over to Seto.

"Thanks a lot," he grumbled, settling down next to Seto.

"Don't get too attached," was Seto's sharp response.

"All settled in? You have all your belongings?" Honda asked cheerfully. He was a young, sturdy fellow, with spiked brown hair and a solid, reliable disposition.

Seto snorted; that was a joke. They had their clothes, and enough food and water to make it up the mountain, but that was all they'd brought.

"I'll take that as a yes. Hold on tight; the Dragons tend to have a jolty start. Ready? Here we go!"

Honda snapped the rope reins. The Dragon tethered to the front of the chariot- a blue Dragon with giant wings, flapped furiously and rose high into the air. Winged Dragon, nicknamed the Guardian of the Fortress (presumably because Atemu used it in fire safety around the palace), began pulling the chariot forward. It tipped back slightly, then stabled and began rolling along. Seto remained obstinately facing forward, but Jounouchi turned around and waved to the children who had gathered to see them off- Yuugi, Rebecca, Shizuka, Mokuba, and Noa.

They moved quickly, covering ground with astonishing speed. Seto and Jounouchi watched the landscape flash by, and the mountains in the distance grew ever closer. Early on in their travels, Seto caught a glimpse of something in the distance. "What's that?" he asked, after several minutes of struggling with his surly disposition.

Honda glanced over, following his finger. Seto was staring at a sprawling complex to the north. "Eh? Oh, those are the stables."

"More stables for the Dragons?" Jounouchi wondered. "I thought those were back in the village, behind the palace."

Honda laughed. "Those are just the Stables Minor, for the Dragons that need special attention, work with the core firemen, or are otherwise attached to the palace and the village. A few flights away are the Stables Major, what you're looking at now."

Jounouchi whistled. "Those are bigger than the ones at the palace?"

Honda gave him an odd look. "Of _course_," he said. "The ones at the palace are tiny."

Jounouchi shook his head disbelievingly and slumped back in his seat. "I aint gonna go there."

"What's the white one?" Seto asked, still staring at the Stables Major.

"Aaah, that's the special one!" Honda winked. "See how it's slightly set apart from the others? And how it's made entirely of white wood?"

"Yes," Seto said, sounding irritated. "That's why I asked about it."

"It's called the Stables Primary. That's where Slifer lives," Honda said in a hushed voice.

Seto frowned. "Slifer? I don't know what-"

"Yes you do," Jounouchi broke in, looking excited. "That's the Dragon that went to Atemu as a sign of his rule!"

"O-oh…" Seto said softly, remembering what Anzu had told them in the meadow. "You're right…" He ignored Jounouchi's triumphant grin. "But I thought Atemu was supposed to rule with Slifer at his side?"

"Not literally. You can't expect Slifer to stay at the palace," Honda said with a snort. "It'd be much too cramped for his taste. Trust me, I've seen him. You'll never find a more pampered Dragon, unless it's Red-Eyes. Or perhaps Thousand Dragon and Baby," he added as an afterthought. "The Kawai family got a special grant, and now the two of them live on privately owned land next to the Kawai's house."

"Is that Shizuka?" Jounouchi wondered aloud.

"Kawai Shizuka, that's right," Honda said, sounding pleased. "I love that kid."

Seto rolled his eyes, fixing his gaze on Slifer's stables. "Does Atemu ever visit with Slifer?"

"All the time," Honda replied.

"Oh," Seto answered, and fell silent.

At midday, they broke for lunch- Seto wanted to eat while riding, but Honda insisted on a rest for Winged Dragon. They were off again as soon as possible, and the delay didn't cost them any time.

"Where did the ropes come from?" Jounouchi asked out of the blue, leaning forward and speaking in Honda's ear. The brunette driver, who had taken on a glazed, bored look, snapped out of it and shook his head. "Huh? Ropes?"

"Yeah. The ones tying Winged Dragon to the chariot. Where'd they come from?" Jounouchi asked.

Honda twisted in his seat to give him a weird look. "Plant, I suppose. Why?"

"I just wondered," Jounouchi shrugged. " 'Cause you don't have any animals here, I wondered what you used instead."

"Katsuya," Seto growled. "Ropes are made from plant in _our_ world."

"Oh." Jounouchi blanched. "Sorry. I thought they came from animal tendon or something…"

Seto groaned and leaned back in the seat. _Why me?..._

- 

- 

"We'll make camp for the night," Honda said, starting to unload the small tent from the back of the chariot. "And you can leave in the morning, bright and early."

Seto stared at the Barrier. They were right at the foot of the mountains, about four hours before dusk. "Where's the portal?"

Honda dropped the tent and came next to him, back to the sun. "Aaah… there," he said, pointing after a brief search. Seto studied the rock carefully. It had a distinctive, protruding shape; and it was darker than the others.

"That's only about three hours away," Seto said decisively. "We can make it."

Both Honda and Jounouchi sent him disbelieving looks. "I don't think that's such a hot idea, Kaiba," Jounouchi said, shaking his head. "Come on, what's the harm in camping out a night?"

Seto ignored him. "We'll leave now," he said firmly, grabbing his backpack and hoisting it onto his shoulders. "We're well rested already. We just sat in that chariot all day."

Jounouchi groaned and burrowed his head in his hands, but nonetheless fetched the second pack that Ryou had provided, fastening it tightly around his shoulders. At Honda's questioning look, he rolled his eyes and said, "There's no arguing with him."

"All right," Honda said doubtfully. "But I'd never make it back by sunset. I have to camp here the night anyway. Are you _sure _you don't want to wait?"

"Positive," Seto said quickly, already moving towards the mountains. "Good-bye. And thank you for your help; it's been much appreciated."

"Don't you want more directions?" Honda called after him.

"I can find it!" was Seto's only response.

Jounouchi shrugged helplessly at Honda. "I guess he knows the way. He's usually paranoid about these kinds of things, so I guess I can trust him. Well, bye! Seeya- or, not… Ah, bye again!" He waved frantically, then trotted after Seto and disappeared behind a bend.

Alone, Honda shrugged in bewilderment. "I've never seen anyone so eager to leave Dragon Country," he murmured to Winged Dragon, who merely stretched and yawned. He chuckled. "Sure, buddy. Just give me a second to set up camp, then we'll see about food for you."

- 

- 

"Kaiba," Jounouchi said, panting.

"Don't say it, Katsuya," Seto ground out, knowing what Jounouchi's comment would be.

"I thought you said you knew the way!" Jounouchi plowed on, ignoring Seto. "But we've been wandering around for way longer than three hours, and it's starting to get dark. And it's cold. And I'm tired. My leg cramped up after sitting all day." He glared accusingly.

Seto clenched his teeth. "I _did_ know the way. It's just harder to find in the…"

"In the dark," Jounouchi said, rolling his eyes.

"When you're on the ground," Seto countered, glaring.

"Whatever. I'm tired. Can we eat?"

Seto simply shook his head, gazing into the distance. "I think that's it, over there," he said finally, pointing.

"Yeah, right," Jounouchi muttered, too tired to look.

"No, really," Seto argued. "I recognize the shape. It's big and it juts out and it looks darker than the others."

Jounouchi sighed. "You run, I follow," he said in a deadpan voice.

"Fine with me," Seto sniffed, striding forward decisively.

They picked their way among boulders for a while, and Jounouchi stumbled in the dark and nearly fell down a ravine. He was saved only by Seto's quick hands, seizing him under the armpits and hauling him to stable ground.

"You bruised me," Jounouchi complained.

Seto didn't bother to argue with him. He had to concede now that they were lost, and it was too dark to advance forward. "Maybe we should stop for the night," he said wearily.

Jounouchi glared. "Fine with me. You know, if we'd camped back there with _Honda_, we'd have nice soft _pillows_ and a _bed_ and a _campfire_…"

Seto ignored him, tossing his pack on the ground and putting his head on top of it. Jounouchi sunk down next to him, reluctantly following suit. "We'll be able to find our way better in the morning," he said, willing himself to believe it.

"When will we arrive?" Jounouchi asked sleepily.

"I don't know. It shouldn't take more than a few hours," Seto responded with certainty.

"No, I mean _when_. When, as in our world-time. Will it be the same time as when we fell through the portal? Will it be weeks later? Years later? Same time passage? 'Cause I remember when we fell into Dragon Country, it was night, but when we arrived here it was early morning."

"I did ask Ryou about that," Seto said, closing his eyes. "He doesn't know. It's not like anyone's ever come back to tell them. The people who leave _want_ to leave."

"Mmm." Jounouchi's voice was drowsy. "Kaiba?"

"_What_?" he asked, sighing.

"Do you want to leave?"

Seto was silent a moment, before blurting, "Of course I do."

"I think I do," Jounouchi said uncertainly. "I do miss home, although it's great here. But sometimes I wonder about you."

"What? You think I'm a freak? And I belong in a freakish world?" Seto's voice was snappish.

Jounouchi, though he expected the boy to shout back, was surprisingly subdued. "No. I don't think this place is freakish. I think it's fantastic."

Then he was quiet, leaving Seto to mull over what he'd said. Just when Seto was convinced Jounouchi was asleep, he spoke up again. "Kaiba?"

He rolled his eyes inside shut lids. "What now, Katsuya?"

"Do you see a light?"

Reluctantly, Seto pried his eyes open. Then he sat up, all sleepiness gone. "Yes."

Jounouchi rose beside him, picking up his pack. "What do you think it is?"

Seto gazed at the flickering glow, reminiscent of firelight, coming from a crevice several hundred feet ahead of them. "Could be Dragons," he said uncertainly.

"It could be people," Jounouchi said excitedly. "With food, and warmth, and directions."

"We have food," Seto said, annoyed.

"We have _sandwiches_. And some bread that that Ryou guy gave us. But in case you haven't noticed, Kaiba, it's _freezing_. And we're dead lost."

Seto scowled in the dark, unwilling to admit he was right. Especially the cold part- the winds whipped through the bleak mountains and tore through the frigid boulders, chilling him to the bone. "It still might be Dragons," he said at last.

"Could be. But you know what? I'm willing to take that risk," Jounouchi said, starting forward and leaving Seto behind. "Come on… let's go."

Seto grimaced, but hurriedly followed Jounouchi, unwilling to be left behind. "Fine, but we're not going to walk right into that campside," he said sternly. "Let's walk up to one of the ledges above it, and we can see if it's people or not. And what kind of people they are."

"You mean sneak up on them?" Jounouchi asked, sounding amused.

"Yes, actually. I do."

- 

- 

They ended up crawling on their bellies to the edge of the natural shelf, both to keep their balance and not to be seen. "This is really not dignified," Jounouchi whispered, but Seto ignored him.

They peered down below. It was indeed people gathered around the several fires there, and as far as Seto could tell there wasn't a Dragon in sight. Subdued groups laughed and whispered around the fires, tearing off hunks of bread and tossing them around. They didn't look as clean or well-groomed as the people back in Dragon Country, but Seto credited that to their stay in the mountains.

"Who are they?" Jounouchi whispered, but Seto had no answer.

"Ryou told me about a people called the Krawdiites- a not-so-nice people, but I doubt this is them. The Krawdiites aren't supposed to have left their side of the mountain in a thousand years." A figure, standing up in the closest fire, caught his attention. "Wait- isn't that Ryou?" The white hair was unmistakable.

Jounouchi peered uncertainly. "Um, I dunno. I never talked to the guy that much, but that guy down there doesn't look exactly the same. He's… skinnier. And meaner looking. He seems nasty."

Seto frowned down. What Jounouchi said was true, but the uncanny resemblance couldn't be coincidence.

"Marik," the white-haired man spoke in a grating voice, and that sealed it for Seto: that wasn't Ryou. "Did you take down the Dragon?"

A blonde-haired, dark-skinned man at another fire glanced over. "It's impossible to say," he replied in a smooth, but somehow repelling, voice. "I know I hit it, but how badly is the question?"

The white-haired man grunted. "We could have had _meat_ tonight, instead of plain bread," he said in disgust, tossing a piece into the fire and watching as it blackened.

"It's not like I missed on purpose," Marik said tartly, before turning back to his group.

Seto became aware of Jounouchi staring at him, face pale. "Did they just say they wanted to _eat_ the Dragon?" Jounouchi asked, his voice slightly fearful.

"I think this settles it," Seto said grimly. "We don't want to be messing with these people."

"Come on," Jounouchi said, cautiously scooting away from the ledge. They went as quickly as they dared, struggling to remain absolutely silent. They were sure that they didn't want to be caught by the people down there. Seto had one tense moment where he and Jounouchi nearly lost their balance at the same time, but thankfully both recovered without a mishap. He thought that someone back at the camp might have heard it, but they were long gone if anyone ever went to investigate.

Once they were a fair distance from the camps, Seto dared to speak. "Who do you suppose _they_ were?" he asked in disgust, putting his hands on his hips.

"I have no idea, and I really don't think I want to know," Jounouchi responded, shaking his head. "But you had the right idea, Kaiba- the sooner we get out of here, the better."

Seto opened his mouth, then abruptly shut it. "What was that?" he hissed.

"What?" Jounouchi asked, wildly looking around. "What was what?"

"That _noise_. Sssh…" He held a finger to his lips, and Jounouchi finally heard it. A low moaning, coming from their left.

"Uh-oh…" Jounouchi moaned, but Seto shook his head.

"Don't be stupid, Katsuya- it's not someone from the campside back there. Why would they be crouching in a ravine, moaning? Come on. Let's have a look."

"What?" Jounouchi asked in alarm, but Seto was already moving. He crept carefully among the boulders until he reached a small break in the rocky landscape.

There, lying on a relatively bare patch of dirt, was a Dragon. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Seto thought she was blue. She had an extremely long, narrow head and hugely elongated beak and thin limbs. But most importantly, a crude wooden spear had entered through her stomach on one side and was poking out the other in an extremely painful-looking wound.

"This has to be what that Marik guy was talking about," Seto said grimly, as Jounouchi tentatively came for a look, his amber eyes widening in shock and disgust. "This is the Dragon they took a shot at. I noticed the other wooden spears back there, but didn't know what they were for."

"That's nasty," Jounouchi moaned, noticing the faint trickle of greenish blood.

"I agree." Seto took a deep breath and removed the backpack, taking his trenchcoat off as well and laying it on the ground. "Come on. Let's try and shift the bulk of the Dragon onto the trenchcoat."

"What?" Jounouchi squeaked. "Are you nuts?"

"No, I'm trying to save this Dragon's life," Seto said sharply. "If we leave her here, she'll die. And I'm no expert at healing wounds like this. Are you?" Jounouchi remained silent.

"We help her onto the trenchcoat lengthwise," Seto outlined, taking in deep, calming breaths. "I carry the front, you carry the back. We have to get her back to Honda, at the campside. Honda can bring her back to the palace."

"They've got good healers there," Jounouchi said hopefully, removing his bag and rolling up his sleeves. "All right. I'm in."

Working together, trying to disturb the Dragon as much as possible, they transferred her to the makeshift stretcher. Thankfully, she didn't put up much of a fight; the Dragon seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness. Huffing and puffing, Seto and Jounouchi maneuvered her carefully all the way down the mountains, steadily making their way back to Honda's campside. It was nearly daybreak when they returned, and Seto was worried: the Dragon hadn't moved in the last hour.

"What in the hellfires of Dragon breath?" was Honda's sleepy response as they grimly awoke him.

"We need to get this Dragon back to the palace," Seto said firmly, hauling Honda to his feet. "She doesn't have much time to live."

Honda took one look at the Dragon and inhaled sharply, his eyes popping out. "That's a Spear Dragon! Who did this?"

"We don't know who they are," Seto tossed grimly over his shoulder, helping Jounouchi settle Spear Dragon securely onto the chariot.

Honda scrambled to his feet, gathering everything up furiously and tossing it at the foot of the chariot. He frantically tethered Winged Dragon to the chariot again, his fingers fumbling with the knots; the recently awoken Dragon peered at his wounded companion. Abruptly, he lifted his blue head and let out a furious roar, sending a stream of fire three feet into the air. Seto cringed, not wanting to be on the wrong side of that blast.

"I'm ready," Honda said, hopping into the driver's seat and taking up the rope reins. He fixed Seto and Jounouchi with a look. "You coming?"

Seto didn't hesitate. "You bet," he said, leaping into the passenger seat of the chariot and letting Jounouchi crowd in after him.


	4. The King of Thieves

Dragon Country, Chapter 4 : The King of Thieves

- 

- 

The mood all across Dragon Country was somber. Shadi and Isis attended Spear Dragon feverishly, while Anzu hovered over the steaming bathwater the Dragon was submerged in, her brow creased impossibly deep and a look of despair in her eyes. The children crouched around the back end of the stables; some of the younger girls were weeping. Mokuba clutched his brother dearly, and Noa absently stroked his hair, trying to reassure him; his dark blue eyes stared vacantly into the distance. Unless they had jobs in the stables, people had gone home early and gathered at the kitchen table, talking in hushed voices. Someone had seen Honda, Seto, and Jounouchi approaching at top speed with the limp body of the wild Spear Dragon and spread the news. Apparently, everyone knew that this meant something important, and that it was bad; now they speculated as to what exactly had happened.

Inside the stables, Kujaku Mai was trying to attend to the exhausted Winged Dragon, but her eyes kept filling with tears. From time to time, she'd throw a glance over to the pen where Harpies Pet Dragon was being kept and her face would go rigid with anger.

In the front of the village, Atemu's imposing palace stood. It too was void of the usually bubbling life and activity; now, the most important gathering was in the throne room, where Seto and Jounouchi had first met the Pharaoh. Atemu, Seto, Jounouchi, a man neither of them knew and Ryou the fireman were the only ones in the room; Atemu had abandoned the throne chair in favor of a small table in the center of the large floor.

"Did you catch any names?" Atemu asked tiredly, massaging his temples after Seto finished telling their tale.

"Just one," he said unhappily. " 'Marik'."

This was somehow significant, because Ryou slumped in his chair; the black-haired man, whom Atemu introduced as Otogi Ryuuji, Captain of the Dragon Country Guard, bolted upright; Atemu nodded as if he'd been expecting this.

"What's the Clan doing in the Barrier?" Otogi asked incredulously.

"Wait," Atemu said sharply. He peered at Seto. "Anything else? About the people, I mean?"

Seto shrugged. "There was one man in a mask…"

"Pandora," Atemu nodded.

"A man with piercings all over his body…"

"Strings," Atemu said, making an expression of disgust.

"Two tall men, bald, with odd symbols painted on their forehead," Seto recalled, wracking his memory.

Atemu rolled his eyes at this. "Mei and Kyuu. Worthless lackeys."

"And the only other person I remember is a man who acted like their leader," Seto admitted reluctantly, cutting his eyes to the side. "What did he look like? That's easy." He took a breath. "He looked exactly like Ryou."

The poor fireman sunk even lower in his seat, if possible. Atemu and Otogi both gave him sympathetic looks.

"He's my brother," Ryou admitted. "My twin brother. Bakura's his name."

"What's your brother doin' out killing Dragons while you work in here to keep their forests safe?" Jounouchi asked with characteristic bluntness.

Ryou sighed. "It's a really long story…"

"Tell it," Atemu ordered, absently rubbing his Puzzle again. Ryou dipped his head in agreement; he'd obviously been waiting for the request.

"Bakura and I were born in a city far south of here. My mom- a firefighter, like me- died when we were young, in a giant fire caused by a raging Berserk Dragon. Our father was a merchant, and came here a lot on business. Bakura and I traveled back and forth between the south and Dragon Country; I loved it here, but he preferred down south. I guess our big differences just had to do with circumstance. When Bakura was really little, he got into a scuffle with a One-Eyed Shield Dragon. They're really small," he addressed to Seto and Jounouchi, "And they don't have much in the way of claws, but it was enough to leave a scar under his right eye. Did you see the scar last night?" he added as an afterthought.

Seto shook his head. "No, but we were pretty far away and it was dark."

Ryou shrugged. "Well, hopefully you won't be close enough to see it sometime later," he said glumly. "Anyway, Bakura's never really trusted Dragons since then. When we were teenagers, he said they should all be killed and roasted, or raised as prisoners." Ryou bit his lip. "Shortly after my father passed away, he left home and formed a group that he simply called the Clan. They live in the unpopulated area in between Dragon Country and the lands to the south. The Clan makes their living by robbing travelers… and by hunting wild Dragons and illegally selling their scales. Dragon skin is worth quite a lot in illegal trade. I suppose they started eating the meat rather than throwing away the whole carcass," Ryou added in distress.

"I've led several expeditions against them," Otogi added distastefully. "But Bakura's taken to calling himself the King of Thieves. It's impossible to catch the Clan. Even our best Dragons can't find them when they slip into the densest forests, or follow underground caves, or crouch under boulders and the like."

"Do they hunt with those wooden spears?" Jounouchi asked suddenly.

Otogi nodded.

"So were they up to the same things in the Barrier?" Jounouchi wondered.

"That's what I'd like to know," Otogi said grimly.

Atemu lifted his head. "They've been quiet lately. During the spring and early summer, the Clan will raze the smaller settlements to the south of this village, driving the people here for temporary shelter. The Clan burns their houses, raids the settlements for food and wares, and kills some of the Dragons that live nearby. We hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since last summer, and it's autumn now; I thought they might have disbanded. But it appears not- they have simply moved. The question remains, why? I'm sure they haven't exhausted resources in the south. That logically points to only one conclusion: They've found a better way of making money somewhere. Possibly, a better market."

"The Krawdiites?" Otogi wondered aloud.

Atemu cast his eyes to the side. "Difficult to say for sure."

The door slid open at the far end of the room, and Anzu entered, her pretty blue eyes shadowed.

"How is she?" Atemu asked, half-rising.

"I don't know," Anzu answered softly. "She started sweating."

Atemu groaned, and returned to his seat, resting his head in his hands.

"Does that mean she has a fever?" Jounouchi questioned. "I thought that being hot was good for Dragons. What with the fire and all."

"Dragons are different from people," Anzu explained, sitting quietly between Seto and Atemu. "A high temperature _is_ good, very good for them. But they can only maintain this high temperature if they _don't_ sweat. As you know, sweating is a physical means to regulate body temperature in humans, to keep it low by evaporative cooling. It's dangerous for Dragons to chill down like that. Spear Dragon is in the hot-water bath right now, which should help."

"Is there anything we can do?" Seto asked, his voice low.

Everyone turned to him. "You've done so much already," Anzu told him, her voice trembling. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, Spear Dragon would probably be dead right now, and we'd never know about the Clan. Maybe now we have a surprise advantage over them."

"I'm sorry you were put out of your way," Atemu said grimly. "We'll arrange transportation back immediately."

Seto hesitated. "That… won't be necessary."

All heads swiveled to him, including Jounouchi's.

"You'll stay?" Ryou asked, his voice sounding hopeful.

Reluctantly, Seto nodded. "For the time being. I want… to help. With the Dragons."

Jounouchi's eyes brightened, but his reaction was nothing to Anzu's. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him, and for a moment Seto almost wished she would. But she restrained herself and turned back to the informal meeting, a spark of hope born in her eyes.

- 

- 

The lone man found shelter in a small, but dry, cave, and decided to pause and regain his energy. He was crossing the Barrier from the north, entering Dragon Country in a relatively isolated area. But part of the reason for this isolation was the extreme weather. Not even many Dragons could thrive in the constant snowfall, merciless winds, and bitter cold that were characteristic of the mountain pass in this area.

The man brought out a wisp of grass and some flint from inside his pocket. As he'd been walking, he had picked up what little timber could be found in the sparse trees and fallen branches. He dumped his armload of wood in a haphazard pile on the ground and began working at lighting it. For five minutes, he struck the flint over and over onto the grass. The dry grass first smoldered, then burst into flames; but no matter what he tried the sopping wood wouldn't catch. The constant snow had soaked it through, and finally his grass ran out. In a momentary fit of anger, he chucked the flint out of the cave entrance, slumping back on a cold rock wall.

A soft chuckling floated to the cave. The man opened his eyes again, and saw a curious-looking Dragon poking his head through the entrance. In his mouth was clutched the flint the man had just thrown away.

The Dragon moved into the cave, stumbling clumsily, and dropped the flint. He sniffed the pile of wood tentatively. The man watched the Dragon with amusement, but with caution; it was an Armored Dragon. This one was young, and almost comical-looking; but the babies were never far from their parents.

Decisively, the Dragon opened his mouth and let out another of the chuckling-noises. Then his chuckle suddenly deepened, and a red-hot spark of fire flew out and landed on the wood. Immediately, the wood flared up, and the fire spread quickly. The Dragon sat back on his haunches, pleased with himself.

The man laughed in delight. "Why, thank you," he said, reaching out to scratch the Armed Dragon's ears. The orange Dragon preened.

A deep, dangerous rumble resounded through the mountains, shaking the very air. Armed Dragon scampered back, turning in a quick, agitated circle.

"That'll be your mother calling," the man told the Dragon. "You'd best hurry along. We don't want her coming here, after all."

Armed Dragon gave its affectionate chuckle one more time, then turned and hurried out of the cave. Craning his head, the man thought he could see the huge, imposing shadow of the full-grown Armed Dragon, silhouetted against the half-moon. Smiling faintly, he settled back down, holding his hands out in front of the fire. It warmed him, through and through.

- 

- 

"Um, hi," Jounouchi said hesitantly, peering over the stall door.

Mai glanced over her shoulder at him and gave a nod, quickly turning back to Winged Dragon. "You'll be fine," she murmured at him, giving him a quick pat on the head. Then she left the stall, flipping the latch behind her. Winged Dragon turned in a circle three times, just like a dog, as Jounouchi noted with some amusement, then settled down on the straw mat and closed his eyes.

"He's okay?" Jounouchi asked awkwardly, tagging along as Mai set off at a brisk walk down the hall. "He flew at top speed back here. I've never seen anything move so fast, especially when carrying a whole bunch of passengers."

"He's exhausted, but all he needs is rest," she responded quietly, picking up her pace. Jounouchi trotted after her.

"Wait! Did I- did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?"

She stopped abruptly, and Jounouchi nearly crashed into her. He breathed a sigh of relief, then realized she was facing the stable. He twisted his head, and saw the same elegant label: '_Harpies Pet Dragon_'.

"When you guys first brought Spear Dragon in, I _saw_ the wound she had," Mai said in a low, dangerous voice, vibrating with rage. "That's the same wound Harpies Pet Dragon has. That was no Dragon claw. Someone put a spear through her leg."

Jounouchi's jaw dropped; her words were making perfect sense. He suddenly understood. "You're _right_…" a shiver ran through his body. "It was the Clan that did it."

"I thought as much," Mai said, lifting her jaw. She opened the stable door, letting Jounouchi follow her through. Then she strode over to the Dragon. Harpies Pet was already awake, standing up as if she'd been expecting Mai; her tail wound all the way around the front of her feet and the gleaming gemstone atop her head nearly scraped the roof.

Mai ran her fingers across the scar on the Dragon's leg. "Don't worry, girl," she whispered in the same deadly tones. "They'll pay."

Jounouchi hesitated, watching the two of them. Mai and the Dragon had a lot in common, he mused uncertainly. They were beautiful, powerful, and he had a sneaking suspicion that they could both be very dangerous.

"I'm sorry," he said finally.

Mai and Harpies Pet both turned their heads to look at him, and he cringed, wanting to smack himself for his stupidity.

"For what?" Mai asked, arching an eyebrow.

"For, uh… leaving. For being about to leave. So soon. You know?" Sheepishly, Jounouchi kicked the ground.

"Don't be," Mai said, folding her arms and giving him a long look. "I can't blame you. I'd be in a rush to get out of here, too."

Jounouchi lifted his eyes to meet hers. "You're serious, aren't you?" he asked, amazed. "You said before that you didn't belong here. How is that possible? This is the most fantastic place I've ever been in! How can it get boring with the Dragons around?"

"You don't understand, Katsuya," she fired back, her eyes sharp. "You just got here, so of _course_ it seems new to you. But… there's _nothing_ here. It's the same thing, every day! Don't get me wrong, of course I love the Dragons, but that's all there is! I've seen everything there _is_ to see! There's nowhere to go, nothing new to try!"

Jounouchi opened his mouth, then shut it again. Scratching his head, he admitted in a subdued voice, "I didn't think of it that way."

"No one does," Mai said, sounding suddenly tired. "Everyone else can deal with it. They love routine, they don't get bored. Every day is an adventure for them. I admire them… I'm just not _like_ them. I need something different."

She sat down on the ground, leaning against Harpies Pet's leg. Jounouchi hesitated, then warily walked over and sat next to her, keeping a careful distance from the Dragon.

"What's your world like, Kaysuya?" she asked.

"Huh?" Jounouchi asked intelligently.

Mai turned her neck to face him, and he blushed. "What's the Other World like?" she asked again. "What is in there? If you don't have Dragons, what _do_ you have?"

"We have… lots of things, I guess," Jounouchi said, though his mind was a blank. "Um… cats, dogs, cows, horses, pigs, monkeys… tons of animals. And other stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, let's see." He ran a finger through his hair, thinking. "I guess the big thing is technology. You know, like computers. And televisions."

She was giving him a blank look, so he tried to elaborate. "Computers are machines that you can do stuff on. Like talk to your friends, or type up homework, or play games… Televisions are these giant boxes with pictures inside. The pictures move, and talk, and tell a story. Sometimes. Other shows are just kind of pointless."

Mai was staring at him, her eyes narrowed. Jounouchi shrugged helplessly. "I'm not doing a very good job, I know," he admitted. "It's one of those things you have to see for yourself."

"What do you do for fun?" she asked abruptly, shoving her confusion aside and moving on.

"Oh. Well. Uh, I go to college a lot of the time. It's a really big school. Tons of kids go there and learn about life. And stuff. But I have to admit, I like the weekends a whole lot more. I don't really have just one thing that I do. Sometimes I go watch a game, like baseball or something. That's where a lot of people play on teams and try to beat each other. They've got other stuff to use, like a bat and a ball and gloves… anyway. Sometimes I go rent a boat with my friends and we waterski or kneeboard. Stuff like that. Uh, I like the arcade… you can play lots of games there… and occasionally I'll catch a movie. Sometimes my buddies and I just hang out at the pizza parlor. And get food," he added. "Kaiba'll come, if I blackmail him well enough. Did you know he's into mermaids?" he asked lamely.

Mai heaved a sigh, tilting her head back and shutting her eyes. "It sounds fantastic…" she murmured.

"Yeah. I guess it is," Jounouchi said slowly, thinking. "Yeah. I loved the world, even though that sounds kinda cheesy. I had a ton of fun with my life. But you know who I think _does_ belong here?"

"Kaiba," she responded.

Jounouchi blinked. "Wha-? How'd you know?"

"I saw him when you guys brought Spear Dragon in," she answered, turning away. "It's all in the eyes."

- 

- 

"How long are you planning to stay?" Ryou wanted to know. He and Seto were walking together off the stable grounds, down toward the manmade river that looped through the palace grounds.

Seto shrugged. "I wanted to stick around until we find out what's going on with the Clan," he responded.

"Well, once winter sets in, we shouldn't hear from them all season," Ryou answered doubtfully. "They typically attack sometime in the spring. You could be here a while."

"That's a problem?" he said stiffly.

"Oh, not for us," Ryou assured, his eyes growing wide. "I was only concerned that you might want to move out of here faster, that's all."

Seto lifted his jaw. "It seems to _me_ that if winter were setting in, it would be hard for Katsuya and me to reach the Barrier anyway."

"That's true…"

"It was freezing while we were up there," Seto continued quickly. "And Katsuya isn't really made of tough enough material. He's not cut out for strenuous hiking like that."

"If you say so," Ryou said, holding up his hands. "Well, let me extend you an official welcome to Dragon Country."

Seto dipped his head slightly, slowing to a stop in front of the river. "Which way?" he asked, glancing from left to right.

"This way," Ryou said, motioning upstream. "Daedalus, the Levia Dragon, lives in a small lake that pools right before we redirected the river to the palace, here."

"Lives _in_ the lake?"

"Yes. Anzu mentioned that Daedalus's element was water," Ryou smiled. "It's really a unique Dragon. I think you'll like it."

"What does it look like?" Seto asked, curiosity piqued.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself," Ryou replied, his voice light. "Come on, let's hurry!"

As they quickened their pace, Seto glanced around. It was a beautiful day, and appeared to be spring. But hadn't Ryou just mentioned that winter was coming? Perhaps it was early fall, and they were using loose terms to describe the not-so-sudden approach of a new season. His thoughts were diverted when Hyozanryu yawned and stretched, revealing the darkish blue underside of his wings and the two bold stripes of orange on his underbelly.

"Ah," Ryou laughed, shaking his head. "We usually say that Red-Eyes and maybe Thousand and Baby Dragon are the most spoiled ones here, but I have to admit that we really pamper all the Dragons." He smiled slightly. "Over in the Stables Major _all_ the Dragons get special attention, really. I suppose it comes with being domesticated, or as domesticated as Dragons can get."

"I heard Slifer was spoiled," Seto remarked.

"Oh yes! That doesn't make him any less powerful, though."

Seto glanced at Ryou out of the corner of his eye. "What does Slifer do?"

Ryou lifted his shoulders. "Only Atemu and Anzu know, and perhaps Otogi has some idea, as Captain of the Guard. It's whispered that Slifer and the Pharaoh can communicate and that Slifer offers guidance. We have no idea how old he is, you know. He was alive when the Blue-Eyes were first born."

Seto snorted. "Where was Slifer when the Blue-Eyes was beating back the Krawdiites?"

Ryou shot him a surprised look. "On the verge of death," he remarked quietly. "The Krawdiites had a weapon, a legendary Dragon with five heads. It got into an epic fight with Slifer, one in which both Dragons were grievously wounded. Slifer went back to the Stables Primary- an older version; the new one was built about fifty years ago- and recovered; the five-headed Dragon simply disappeared. It's been widely feared that it will rise again, but that's just a rumor. We have no evidence towards that."

"Do you have any evidence that any of the stories are true?" Seto asked, surprising both of them.

"Sometimes, stories are all you have," Ryou said, glancing at him up and down as if judging him. "That doesn't mean they're not real. We're here," he added suddenly, gesturing over at the stream that had suddenly widened into a startlingly calm and smooth lake. "I'll call out Daedalus whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready," Seto responded immediately.

"Good." Ryou crouched down next to the lake and carefully unslung the small leather pouch from his shoulder. He opened the flap and removed a small golden globe, placing it with care on the surface of the water. The golden bauble began glowing, and bobbed out into the center of the lake.

"What's that?" Seto asked, trying to keep the fervent interest out of his voice.

"Treasure. Dragon Treasure, if you want to be exact." Ryou made a slight face. "But sometimes I get sick of saying the word 'dragon' all the time! I'm sure you've noticed it's in nearly all our names."

Seto snorted. "True. But that doesn't explain what that 'treasure' is."

"Sorry," Ryou apologized, rising and absently brushing at his pants. "It's just a playful trinket. The Dragons love it; the glowing surface attracts them. The younger ones play with these. We figured that it was a handy way of calling to Daedalus."

They watched as the bauble made its way farther from shore. "We don't call out Daedalus that much," Ryou remarked. "There aren't _that_ many fires, and usually the regular team- like Red-Eyes or Curse of Dragon- can take care of them by stomping them out or scratching dirt atop the flames. But scouts reported a small brushfire in the meadow and I'm usually worried about those. Besides," he continued with a sheepish smile. "It's a good chance to show off the Levia Dragon to you. I love working with him." The golden globe, which had been slowly making its way out to the lake, suddenly changed course and zoomed back towards them. "Ah," Ryou said, sounding pleased. "He's coming."

Ryou stooped and retrieved the bauble, and a second later the water started rippling at the surface. Seto gazed as what must have been a _huge_ body rose, nearly emerging into the air, and sped towards them. When it had almost reached the shore, Daedalus broke the surface and emerged into full view, bellowing in what must have been affection for Ryou, or possibly surprise at the newcomer.

It was okay if Daedalus was surprised, Seto thought hazily, because he was _shocked_. Daedalus was by far the largest Dragon he'd ever seen or ever imagined. It was long, long, long… the head was as large as he was and looked _heavy_. It was elaborately studded with bone ridges and spikes and gems. Then the body extended forever, snaking behind Daedalus; it was mostly smooth, with a red spine and more hard ridges.

"How can something like that even _exist_?" he choked out.

"He's amazing, isn't he?" Ryou said proudly.

"He's _huge._" Daedalus reached the shore and, to Seto's further shock, didn't stop swimming. After the front quarter of his body had wriggled onto the land, two feet appeared. The Dragon emerged fully on the water and shook himself off briefly, although his scales still glistened with water; that whole bulk was being supported by four ridiculously small legs.

"How does he _do_ that?" Seto blurted again, hardly able to believe what his eyes were telling him. His gaze darted to Daedalus's underbelly- it _was_ hovering off the ground. It was unbelievable. Those legs should _not_ be able to carry around that much solid weight. "How can he stand? How is he not being crushed under his own weight?"

"I'd like to give you a reasonable answer, but I can't," Ryou admitted. "A long time ago, some 'doctor' from your world fell through the portal. He spent two years examining the Dragons, trying to figure out how they breathed fire and how their proportionately-small wings could carry their body weight. Eventually he gave up before he went insane."

Seto snorted under his breath. "I thought this place called those who belonged," he said, his voice unintentionally sneering.

Ryou gave him a puzzled look. "It does. Now he lives in the southern cities, married to a very nice lady. They have three kids and run their own clinic."

Seto fell silent. He gave a half-turn, only to come face-to-face with a curious Levia Dragon. Daedalus sniffed him up and down once, then dismissed him and turned to Ryou. "Hello there," Ryou said, patting the Dragon on the head. "Are you ready to go exploring in the meadows? This is Kaiba Seto," he added, as the Dragon turned to his companion again. "He's here to help."

The Dragon lumbered forward, and Seto watched in fascination as its small legs carried it smoothly onward. His own feet began moving, carrying him after the Dragon. Ryou brought up the rear, smiling in faint amusement. He rather liked Kaiba, except he couldn't understand why he was so stubborn about the oddest things.

- 

- 

"Ishizu predicted snow sometime this week," Ryou remarked offhandedly. He was just trying to make conversation, and perhaps draw Seto into a discussion; he could sense that the boy was bursting with questions but was afraid to ask them.

Seto looked up, his brow furrowing. Daedalus was basking in the center of the meadow, letting the sun shine on his long body; the two boys were reclining under a tree, eating some apples. "What is she? A weatherwoman?"

"I don't think so," Ryou replied, blinking. "She's just gifted like that. You know… she can see the future."

"Are you serious?" Seto asked, his voice full of doubt. "She predicts the future? And she guessed it would _snow_?"

"Yes," Ryou responded, wondering if he'd said something wrong. A vein was twitching in Seto's forehead.

"I don't believe in that kind of stuff," Seto announced, crossing his arms and _daring_ Ryou to disagree with him. "You can't know the future. Fortune-tellers or whatever your friend is are all bogus."

Ryou hesitated; he didn't want to offend Seto, although the other boy apparently wasn't concerned with that. "That's just what she said," he ventured timidly.

"It's ridiculous." Seto harrumphed. "Besides. It's not the right season." He waved his arm at the meadow. "Everything's still green. It looks like _spring_. Maybe late summer. Certainly not fall, and that's the earliest it ever snows."

Ryou stared at him, baffled. Kaiba certainly was set in what he thought. _Maybe being here, with the Dragons, will be good for him_, he thought ruefully. Carefully avoiding a confrontation, he rose to his feet. "If you're ready, we'll move on with Daedalus," he suggested. The other boy paused, glancing around the meadow, and nodding his head in satisfaction. Then Seto clambered up behind him. "Of course. Let's go."

They circled the meadow, Daedalus in tow. It was an easy day; there were no fires, not even small ones. Daedalus left them after a few hours; Ryou assured Seto that the Dragon just didn't like being out of water for that long. He took Seto to the caves, and to the edge of the forest; they spent most of their time watching the many wild Dragons that lived nearby.

And as they trudged home later that afternoon, the first snowflakes started to fall. Seto stared first at the clear blue sky, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the sparse white clouds that littered it. Then he gazed around at the meadow, still green and fresh; the flowers held the snowflakes so they sparkled in the light of the setting sun. Ryou was smiling peacefully, holding out his hand and letting the white crystals alight in his palm. He held them for a brief moment before they melted from the warmth, leaving a small puddle of glittering liquid. Ryou tilted his hand, letting the water droplets trickle down to the grassy blades. "Come on," he said, putting a hand on Seto's arm. "We should get home. We'll need to find you a place to stay for the winter."


End file.
